The photograph captures motion in the most literal sense, fabric and bodies spinning through the exhibition space as if to insist that tourism is still alive, still physical, still rooted in presence. A traditional dance performance unfolds right in the middle of the IMTM floor: women in heavy, richly patterned dresses with deep reds, creams, and striped skirts that flare outward as they turn, the fabric catching light and air; men beside them moving with sharp, controlled gestures, arms raised, steps precise, faces focused. The dresses dominate the frame, wide circles of textile that momentarily erase the geometry of the exhibition hall and replace it with something older, slower, ceremonial. Around them, visitors pause, phones lifted, some smiling, some simply watching, drawn into a moment that wasn’t scheduled into their meeting calendars.
Seen in the context of IMTM 2026, set for February 3–4 at Expo Tel Aviv, this scene feels almost symbolic. While headlines outside the hall speak about flight cancellations, fragile air routes, and geopolitical uncertainty, inside the exhibition space culture takes center stage, unbothered by logistics. Tourism here is not presented as a spreadsheet or a route map but as a lived experience, embodied through music, movement, and costume. The dancers don’t adapt to the uncertainty; they perform as if the audience will come, as if travel will continue, as if exchange is inevitable. And in a way, that confidence is the product being sold.
What stands out is the contrast between the performers’ grounded certainty and the audience’s cautious curiosity. Many attendees are clearly international, clearly aware of the complications involved in being here at all. Yet they stop, they watch, they record. IMTM 2026, judging from moments like this, is shaping up to be less about aggressive growth narratives and more about reaffirmation. A reminder that tourism survives turbulence not by ignoring it, but by leaning harder into what makes people travel in the first place: culture, identity, and the promise that stepping into someone else’s world is still worth the effort.