ABA Marketplace 2027 runs 6–9 February at Calgary's BMO Centre. Registration prices, buyer rules, the appointment timeline, host hotels and who can attend.
Cover image: The BMO Centre at Stampede Park, Calgary, venue of ABA Marketplace 2027 (August 2024 file photo) — photo by DXR, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
ABA Marketplace 2027 runs from Saturday 6 to Tuesday 9 February 2027 at the BMO Centre in Calgary, and the deadline that decides your week is 5 January 2027: appointment requests close at 11:59 pm ET that day, and appointment-taking delegates must be registered by then to be included in the pre-scheduled meetings.
Marketplace is the American Bus Association's annual business week for motorcoach and group travel, which ABA calls "the industry's most productive week". Bus and tour operators (the buyers) meet destinations, hotels, attractions and receptive operators (the sellers) in seven-minute appointments booked in advance. Prices are in US dollars.
Who exhibits and who attends ABA Marketplace?
More than 2,500 professionals attended Marketplace 2026, held in Reno, Nevada, from 10 to 13 January 2026, according to the organiser. ABA's 2026 Business Impact Survey, which extends respondents' answers to all attending firms, estimates business booked on site at $49 million, or $124.9 million including expected future sales. ABA also reports more than 70,000 pre-scheduled appointments.
Buyers are charter and tour bus operators, tour operators and tour planners. Sellers fall into ABA's segments: destination marketing organisations (CVBs and state, provincial and federal tourism offices; see our explainer on what a DMO does), lodging, attractions and experiences from museums and theme parks to cruises and historic sites, receptive operators, charter operators and allied associations. Bus manufacturers and hardware and service suppliers exhibit on the Networking Floor, including full-size coaches.
The week also serves bus companies: ABA gives the days a focus of networking, safety, policy and maintenance, with safety council and BusMARC sessions alongside the appointments.
How to register for ABA Marketplace 2027 and what it costs
Registration is online, and ABA membership is not required. The early-bird rate closed on 15 September 2026, so these are the regular prices as of 1 November 2026:
| Delegate type | Price (US$) | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer appointment-taker (qualified operator) | Free | Business Floor booth, up to 150 appointments |
| Buyer rotation delegate | Free | Shares the appointment-taker's booth and schedule |
| Operator representative | $445 | Education, networking and exhibits; no appointments |
| Seller appointment-taker | $1,995 member / $2,445 non-member | 50 appointment slots |
| Seller Business Floor delegate | $1,995 member / $2,445 non-member | Floor access and company meetings; no own schedule |
| Non-exhibiting associate | $1,395 member / $2,145 non-member | For suppliers without exhibit space |
| Guest | $895 | Social and meal functions only |
To take appointments free, an operator must plan or operate group tours or charters, produce at least 24 itineraries a year, have traded for two years and make purchasing decisions. ABA's terms also require buyers to attend at least 95% of their pre-scheduled appointments (the delegate packet says all of them), and operators that do not meet the buyer requirements are invoiced $445. An operator that wants to sell its services must pay the seller rate.
Each seller company can register one appointment-taker if space allows, two with 32 or more buyer requests at Marketplace 2026, three with 64 or more. Fees cover the week's lunches, evening events, education and sightseeing tours, but not hotels or travel; there are no single-event tickets. Cancellations received by 5 January 2027 get a 50% refund, later ones nothing.
Is it open to the public? No. Every delegate must be at least 18, and guests may not conduct business or work for an ABA member company. Media representatives from trade, national or local outlets register free by invitation.
How ABA Marketplace appointments work
Buyers sit at individual booths on the Business Floor; sellers have no booths and move from buyer to buyer. Destination, receptive and charter-operator sellers meet buyers on Sunday 7 February. Lodging, attraction, associate and allied sellers get Monday 8 or Tuesday 9 February, assigned at random when they register. All appointment-takers can use the Business Floor on all three days.
Requests opened on 6 October 2026 in My Marketplace Passport, which also holds the buyer and seller databases; sellers may submit 75 requests for 50 slots, although ABA's terms and conditions give 54. Requests close at 11:59 pm ET on 5 January 2027, and schedules appear at noon ET on 15 January, when manual booking of open slots begins.
ABA says its system schedules nearly 95% of mutually requested appointments and 90% of buyer requests. Appointment codes are assigned on the day you register and scheduling follows code order, not request date, so registering early helps.
Networking, education and side events
Saturday 6 February opens with eight sightseeing tours for all delegates, then the ribbon cutting at 13:35 and the Networking Floor Reception. Sunday's all-delegate lunch carries the State of the Industry address; Monday ends with Dine Around Calgary and the ABA Foundation Afterglow ($55 in advance); Tuesday closes with the awards lunch and a reception sponsored by Visit Charlotte, the 2028 host. ABA promises more than 30 education sessions.
Registered operators can join one of three pre-show FAM tours of Alberta from 1 to 5 February, first come, first served. First-timers are STAR delegates, with an orientation, an ambassador and a floor tour. ABA tells buyers to bring at least 300 business cards; jeans are banned on the Business Floor.
Getting to the BMO Centre and where to stay
The BMO Centre is at Stampede Park, south-east of downtown along Macleod Trail, next to Victoria Park/Stampede CTrain station. ABA runs free shuttles from the host hotels to the venue and all evening events. Calgary International Airport (YYC) has non-stop flights from dozens of US and Canadian cities, ABA says, and its travel page lists an Air Canada discount for 29 January to 17 February 2027.
US citizens need no visa but must fly on a passport book; others should check Canada's entry rules early, as ABA refunds nobody denied entry. Maritz is the official housing provider for five host hotels: Calgary Marriott Downtown, Delta Hotels by Marriott Calgary, Fairmont Palliser, Hyatt Regency Calgary and The Westin Calgary, at listed rates of CAD 260 to 354 a night until 11 January 2027. Delegates who stay outside the official block are charged an extra $300 after the event, unless they live in the Calgary area or ABA accepts their company's travel policy.
How does ABA Marketplace compare with IPW?
Both run on pre-scheduled appointments, but the buyers differ: at ABA Marketplace they are North American bus and tour operators; at IPW, the U.S. Travel Association's marketplace, US suppliers meet international and domestic buyers and media. IPW 2027 runs from 2 to 6 May in New Orleans. Both are in our travel trade show calendar.
Frequently asked questions
When is ABA Marketplace 2027?
ABA Marketplace 2027 runs from Saturday 6 to Tuesday 9 February 2027 at the BMO Centre, 1912 Flores Ladue Parade SE, Calgary. Saturday brings sightseeing tours, education and the Networking Floor opening, and appointments run Sunday to Tuesday. Pre-show meetings start on Friday 5 February.
Is ABA Marketplace open to the public?
No. ABA Marketplace is a business event for bus and tour operators, travel suppliers, manufacturers, associations, government staff and invited media, and every delegate must be at least 18. There are no public days. Spouses or family members can register as guests for US$895, which covers social and meal functions only; guests may not conduct business.
How much does it cost to attend ABA Marketplace?
Qualified bus and tour operators register free as buyer appointment-takers, and so do their rotation delegates. At the regular rates in force as of 1 November 2026, an operator representative without appointments pays US$445, and sellers such as destinations, hotels and attractions pay US$1,995 as ABA members or US$2,445 as non-members. Fees exclude hotels and travel.
How do ABA Marketplace appointments work?
Appointments last seven minutes and are scheduled before the show. Buyers sit at booths on the Business Floor with up to 150 slots; sellers walk from booth to booth with 50 slots. Both sides request meetings in My Marketplace Passport by 11:59 pm ET on 5 January 2027, and ABA's system releases schedules on 15 January, giving priority to mutual requests.
Where is ABA Marketplace 2028?
ABA Marketplace moves to a different North American host city each year: Reno, Nevada, in January 2026 and Calgary in February 2027. ABA has announced Marketplace 2028 for 22 to 25 January 2028 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Sources
- American Bus Association, Marketplace 2027 registration options
- American Bus Association, Marketplace 2027 Delegate Packet (PDF)
- American Bus Association, Marketplace 2027 terms and conditions (PDF)
- American Bus Association, Marketplace 2027 schedule and important dates
- American Bus Association, Plan your visit to Calgary
- American Bus Association, Marketplace homepage and 2026 Business Impact Survey figures
- American Bus Association, Marketplace conferences through 2033 (archived copy)
- Calgary Stampede, BMO Centre location and transit
More upcoming Americas travel trade shows
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