This year's IMEX America reported record attendance as organisers hailed the sector continuing to prosper and power ahead.
The show, which took place October 8-10 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, welcomed more than 15,500 participants including in excess of 5,500 buyers, of which 4,300 were hosted buyers. Buyers took part in more than 86,000 pre-scheduled meetings in three days, the majority of which were one-to-ones with exhibitors.
The incentive travel industry was among the sectors reporting growth; Virgin Atlantic shared a renewed focus on incentive travel with a new role created to meet demand in that sector. Elsewhere, SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence) launched the latest edition of its Incentive Travel Index, revealing the industry is expected to grow even further over the next two years: by 2026, 45 per cent of buyers expect incentive travel activity to be above, or significantly above, 2024 levels.
The strong appetite for personal and professional development was clear from the record attendance at the education programme: more than 1,600 people attended learning sessions held at the show floor’s Inspiration Hub. Event specialist Holly Ransom shared her own pragmatic take on leadership, moderating a series of sessions as part of a new Emergent Leadership Day. In the Ideas theatre next door, the #EventprofsUnplugged format saw standing room only at several of the informal, chat show-style panels.
A highly talked about new addition to the show was the boutique Brand Experience Summit held at Allegiant Stadium. Created in partnership with InVision, LVCVA and Allegiant Stadium Private Events, the summit brought together senior level marketeers to understand how they can better use events as a key marketing channel to drive brand loyalty, trust, engagement and business outcomes.
Watchword
Trust was the watchword of the show with many citing it as the bedrock of their face-to-face connections: Gina Henrickson from Hyatt Hotels, whose wellness activations were designed to help booth attendees be more intentional with their health, said: “Our approach is to bring people together with a deeper sense of trust, connection, and well-being.”
Cheryl Lacriarde from Virgin Atlantic added: “Having a face-to-face conversation is always better for me than a virtual one because I can pick up on a vibe if they’re not serious about doing business.”
Carina Bauer, IMEX CEO, concluded: “We’re delighted that the global business events community has reconvened in such strong numbers here this week, bringing with them a desire to meet with purpose and forge connections for mutual long-term gain. The broader catalytic effect of the show has shone through in the many fringe events, activities and celebrations on and off the show floor – it’s exciting to see how people have used the platform of the show to elevate their own impact and experience.
“The sheer number of attendees and meetings at IMEX America this week is further evidence of how our sector continues to prosper and power ahead.”
Speaking at the show’s traditional closing press conference alongside IMEX chairman Ray Bloom and CEO Carina Bauer, were Rebecca DeLuca, vice president of destination sales at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority; Stephanie Glanzer, chief sales officer and senior vice president at MGM Resorts International, and Drew Holmgreen, chief experience officer at Meeting Professionals International.
IMEX America 2025 takes place October 7 – 9 with Smart Monday, powered by MPI taking place October 6.
