October 11-13, 2011, Las Vegas, NV.
IMEX America -America’s worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events – is a brand new trade show for the US meetings industry. Meeting Professionals International is serving as a strategic partner for the show.
The new show will take place at the Sands Expo Convention Center at the Venetian/Palazzo from 11 – 13 October 2011 and will benefit from a Strategic Partnership with MPI, as well as a broad coalition of industry support. It will be run as part of the IMEX Group of exhibitions and, as such, will be characterized by an uncompromising focus on business, international hosted buyer programs and industry-wide collaboration.
IMEX America is different from any other tradeshow. It will combine the largest hosted buyer program in the US (brought to you by the man who first devised the concept in 1987) with a unique online appointment system; extensive, free education and an unprecedented number and level of association partnerships and co-located events. The sum total will be much more than a trade show.
Who will attend IMEX America?
Exhibitors: Will include national and regional tourist offices, convention & visitor bureau, hotels, conference centers, cruise lines, technology providers, airlines, ground agents, trade associations, destination management companies, event management specialists, transportation companies, trade publications and many more. Exhibitors will attend from across the US and the world.
Hosted Buyers: More than 2,000 decision-makers from the association, corporate and agency sectors will be at IMEX America. 80 per cent will be from North America, 20 per cent from the rest of the world. They must place business internationally as well as in the US to qualify to join the program.
Buyer Attendees: Domestic planners from across the USA including key decision makers from the association, corporate and agency sectors. Attendees can enter free of charge.
What is an IMEX hosted buyer?
Being an IMEX hosted buyer means that IMEX America will pay for all travel and accommodation costs for every single one of the over 2000 buyers expected to attend.
Each buyer is invited to join the program only after going through a rigorous series of checks to ensure they qualify for a place. US hosted buyers must place business domestically, as well as outside North America. International hosted buyers must have a special interest in placing business within North America.
Before the show hosted buyers choose and make their own appointments with exhibitors. IMEX America does not tell them who to meet or when, unlike other shows who often prescribe which buyers meet which exhibitors via a computer generated ‘match-making’ list.
All appointments are made between buyers and exhibitors online using the IMEX America diary and messaging tools. These give buyers and exhibitors complete control and direct communication with each other before the show has started. There is no charge for this service. It is a powerful and proven business tool that is provided free and is expected to generate over 20,000 appointments in the first year.
IMEX industry partners
IMEX America has key partnerships with all the leading meetings industry trade associations including: Exclusive Strategic Partner and Premier Educational Provider – MPI; Site (who are holding their annual conference after the show); DMAI (officially endorse the show); PCMA (who are co-locating the PCMA International Summit 2011 after the show); ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership (organising IMEX America Association Day); ACTE (holding a Power Talk the day prior); IAEE (holding CEM sessions before the show); plus ADME, AIPC, CIC, ECM, JMIC and ICCA.
IMEX America also has a unique industry partnership with the US Travel Association (USTA), the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the $704 billion travel industry.
Other important partners include: The Venetian and The Palazzo Resorts; the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority; Maritz Travel; Carlson Marketing; HelmsBriscoe; Cvent; HPN; Global Cynergies; Conference Direct; Experient; plus leading hotel groups including Starwood, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Intercontinental and Mandarin Oriental.
Las Vegas has more than 140,000 guest rooms and is one of the largest business destinations in the U.S. for hosting meetings and events.
About Rob Hard
