Jeju Forum Adds First Travel Mart as Island Network Widens

The first ITOP Island Travel Mart matched 30 tourism suppliers with 30 Asia-Pacific buyers in Jeju this week, marking the first time the 29-year-old island government network has built a direct commercial channel between its members and the trade.

The 27th Inter-Island Tourism Policy Forum, held October 28–30, 2026, at Jeju Stone Park, drew roughly 450 participants from 16 countries. Delegations from 12 member regions signed a joint statement on climate pressures, digital change and responsible tourism, and Zanzibar was named host of the 28th forum in 2027.

The takeaway: the forum's format is shifting from declarations toward distribution — though the sales evidence isn't in yet.

What changed at Jeju?

The travel mart, organized with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), is the clearest commercial move. It ran on scheduled one-to-one meetings between island suppliers and regional buyers — an intermediate result, not a booked outcome. No contract values or converted sales were published.

The policy program covered online booking trends, off-season marketing, visitor dispersion and direct-flight opportunities. Those were experience exchanges, the record shows, not secured routes or measured marketing growth.

In short: new connections exist, revenue proof does not.

Who actually belongs to ITOP?

ITOP is a network of subnational island governments, not an alliance of independent island states. Jeju, Bali, Hainan and Okinawa founded it in 1997.

Current members:

• Jeju (South Korea)
• Bali (Indonesia)
• Hainan (China)
• Okinawa (Japan)
• Southern Province (Sri Lanka)
• Hawai‘i (United States)
• Zanzibar (Tanzania)
• Phuket (Thailand)
• Cebu (Philippines)
• Penang (Malaysia)
• Galápagos (Ecuador)
• South Aegean (Greece)

Galápagos and South Aegean joined in 2026 — the first additions since 2013 — extending a network historically concentrated in Asia-Pacific into South America and Europe.

That composition matters commercially: the forum gathers destination-level governments that make access, capacity and dispersal decisions, not hotel sales teams.

What does membership cost and deliver?

ITOP lists five member benefits: international forums, policy and best-practice exchanges, destination promotion through travel marts, cooperation projects with UN Tourism, and connections with PATA and other partners. Applicants must be subnational island governments where tourism is a major economic activity.

The public pages reviewed specify no annual subscription, so membership can't be called free — its full cost is simply unknown.

The real attraction for governments is peer access: a dispersal discussion lands differently when participants also manage island access, fragile landscapes and seasonality. These are learning opportunities, not guarantees of investment, air service or bookings.

Has ITOP produced measurable results?

Its documented record starts with continuity: a recurring platform since 1997, plus policy seminars that continued through 2020–2022 when the main forum was suspended during COVID-19.

The 2026 expansion, joint statement and first travel mart are identifiable outputs. But no member-by-member assessment links ITOP participation to higher local earnings, lower emissions, better waste management or new investment. Broad transformation claims would exceed the evidence.

How do UN Tourism and PATA fit in?

UN Tourism's ties predate Jeju — it documented participation in the 2019 Okinawa forum on tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2026 it joined the leaders' roundtable, and organizers announced work toward a post-2030 sustainable island tourism policy model. That's a framework in progress, not a finished one.

PATA's role is more commercial: the mart partnership gives island suppliers a documented bridge into wider trade networks. An Islands Connect meeting on MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) ran alongside — overlapping networks, not shared membership.

What's next for Zanzibar?

Zanzibar inherits the 2027 forum after President Hussein Ali Mwinyi took part in the Jeju opening and flag handover. The next meeting is a natural checkpoint: if members report signed deals, adopted policies and progress on the UN Tourism cooperation, the network's value becomes far easier to sell to both businesses and residents.