IMEX America’s growth story powers on with biggest show yet

IMEX America’s growth story powers on with biggest show yet

Las Vegas, Oct 14 2014 – IMEX America opened for business today at the Sands Expo® in Las Vegas with the announcement that the fourth edition of the trade show for the international meetings, incentive travel and events industry is the biggest yet.

With a total of 2,900 companies exhibiting representing 150+ countries (2013: 2,694 from 150 countries) the number of exhibitors joining the show has risen by 8 percent. By the time IMEX America closes on Thursday, the number of hosted buyers and other attendees is also expected to be higher than previous years.

As a result of over 70 new exhibitor booths and 83 existing exhibitors increasing the size of their booths the show floor has also enlarged by 13 per cent.

Some of the global regions that have expanded this year are the USA & Canada, which is 16.5 percent bigger; Latin America (6.5 percent); Europe, which is bigger by 3 percent and Asia-Pacific, which has grown
by nearly 8 percent.

Other sectors within the market have shown significant growth too. Space taken by the hotel groups is up by 26 percent; private sector company booth space has increased by 37.5 percent; space taken by technology suppliers is up by 20 percent and incentive products have risen by 50 percent.

Says IMEX Group Chairman, Ray Bloom: “We are delighted with the industry’s continued strong response to IMEX America. Every year we set out to add more value, fresh ideas, new partnerships and more choice while maintaining a sharp focus on high quality all round – and that covers the quality of hosted buyers attending as well as the education and networking events on offer. We want every single participant to leave in no doubt that IMEX America provided them with an unparalleled business experience.”

With buyers able to use the unique IMEX appointment system to preschedule appointments with exhibitors before the show opens, IMEX has developed a reputation as an efficient and buyer-friendly trade show that also satisfies the needs of exhibitors. Buyers pre-arranged 53,000 one-to-one appointments and booth presentations prior to today. In addition a total of 1,200 group appointments are also scheduled.

Smart Monday – powered by MPI – kicked off the week of IMEX America yesterday with a stronger than ever program that combined an opening keynote with a day of intensive professional development. This included the first ever PCMA Business School plus the show’s annual Association Focus for association executives.

Before the show opened at 10am Pacific time today 12 other events had already taken place,
including several sets of industry certification programs, the CIC Hall of Leaders Gala, Association Evening,
Site Nite North America, the first ever CEIR IMEX America Golf Classic, the Site Young Leaders Conference and the IMEX Challenge.

IMEX America hits a four year high

IMEX America hits a four year high

Las Vegas, October 16 2014 – IMEX America’s fourth edition came to a close earlier today at the Sands Expo®, Las Vegas, with IMEX Chairman, Ray Bloom, declaring the trade show the biggest to date with growth in all key areas.

He confirmed that the number of exhibiting companies taking part had once again risen, going up from 2694 in 2013 to 2900 in 2014. This was reflected in a 13 percent increase in the size of the show floor.

In addition Bloom described the continued expansion of the hosted buyer program: “Numbers climbed from 2000 at launch to reach 2700 last year. This year we’ve hit over 2900 for the first time,” he said.

He also mentioned that total participants for IMEX America 2014 were 10,000 and that total downloads of the IMEX App had also risen by 22 percent to 5450 compared to last year. “I am delighted with the reception the upgraded IMEX app has received. It’s a valuable tool and a real asset to everyone who uses it,” he said.

As a result of this year’s all round growth, the number of one-to-one business appointments and booth presentations taking place at the show rose to 53,000, compared to 50,000 last year. Bloom also revealed that 1250 group appointments were attended by 10,600 hosted buyers, an increase of 12% on last year. He added that a higher proportion of hosted buyers are now coming into the show from further afield and staying in Las Vegas for longer to take full advantage of the show and other industry events.

Speaking at the show’s closing press conference he talked about the huge number of co-located events and industry meetings now taking place around IMEX America, with 10 events completed even before the show opened on Tuesday morning. The IMEX Challenge, Site Young Leaders Conference and various industry fundraisers such as Site Nite, the first ever CEIR IMEX America Golf Classic, the CIC Hall of Leaders Gala plus the MPI Foundation Rendezvous were named as just some of the week’s highlights.