The vibe was upbeat and positive for the travel industry to roar back during the annual IMEX America show, held November 9-11 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Returning to the international stage after skipping 2020, Imex America drew MICE buyers and a wide array of leading suppliers representing cruise lines, destinations, hotels and resorts, and destination management companies. And although smaller than past edition’s of the show one hosted buyer from Argentina said he had thirty five groups in the works for 2022 with eighteen already under a deposit. After eighteen months of zoom meetings he said IMEX was the perfect venue for getting back to in person face to face meetings with suppliers. This sentiment was found all over the show floor.
After a busy week defined by an overwhelming feeling of “it’s good to be back”, IMEX Chairman Ray Bloom, and CEO, Carina Bauer were joined on the podium (pictured above) at the IMEX America closing press conference by Steve Hill, CEO and President of the LVCVA; Paul VanDeventer, President and CEO of MPI and Stephanie Glanzer, Chief Sales Officer & Senior Vice President at MGM Resorts International.
IMEX America 2021 Closing Press Conference
Ray marked the 10th edition of IMEX America with his traditional recap of business statistics from the week, “Over 3,300 buyers were here this week, the vast majority of them hosted buyers. We also had over 2,200 exhibiting companies representing 200-plus countries. Appointments were around 50,000 and feedback shows they produced strong business for exhibitors. Also notable was the quality of business and RFPs coming from walk-up appointments by attendee buyers.“
Carina expanded upon the business demand demonstrated during the week. “It’s been heart-warming and joyful to hear so many come-back stories. London & Partners, our friends here today, the LVCVA, and dozens more, including hotel groups such as Mandarin Oriental, have all reported strong business pipelines right through Q3 next year and into 2025. This IMEX week has given us all reason to believe the industry’s future is bright.
The mood in the room was upbeat as every member of the panel shared success stories and paid tribute to the resilience and adaptability of the global business events industry, as demonstrated at IMEX America by the sheer scale and scope of this year’s show after close to two years of industry shutdown.
Innovation and initiative
As always, IMEX America offers a wealth of initiatives and opportunities in addition to face to face business. This week they included over 200 education sessions, new education tracks, a new People & Planet Village with a ‘misfit’ fruit and vegetable juice bar plus sustainability sessions; a Tech Therapy Area and a daily wellbeing program which featured the traditional #IMEXrun on Wednesday morning. World-class experts and speakers, specialist education for corporate, association and agency executives together with workshops and programs for students and faculty topped off a busy reunion week.
The dates for IMEX America 2022 were confirmed as October 11 – 13, with Smart Monday, powered by MPI on October 10.
IMEX America, www.imexamerica.com