IMEX America 2024 Attracts Tens of Thousands to Blow Past Previous Records

 

IMEX America resumed its record-setting ways for the 2024 edition, filling the exhibit space at Mandalay Bay—which completed a $100 million redesign of its 2.1 million-square-foot convention center in May—and drawing a throng of attendees that topped out at more than 15,000.

“The trajectory for the show, which reflects the industry since the pandemic, has been on a very steep climb, and that's reflected here,” said Ray Bloom, chairman and founder of IMEX Group, about the October 7-10 event in Las Vegas. “But once again, we've broken every single record. The total number of attendees was over 15,500. The number of buyers who have attended the show was over 5,500, of which over 4,300 were hosted buyers. In terms of meetings and appointments—mainly individual ones—there were 86,000. Also, the attendance at the education sessions, again, [was] a record. Over 1,600 people, in fact, attended the Inspiration Hub [education area].”

Breaking records has become quite the norm for IMEX Group in Las Vegas, with the 2023 edition attracting approximately 15,000 attendees with 5,000 buyers (4,200 of which were hosted), which was a record until this year.

Aside from the main events, IMEX Group CEO Carina Bauer said she noticed an uptick in ancillary events held in the destination, too, which is indicative of the show’s relevance.

[Related: IMEX America Promises Impactful Programming That Will Engage Attendees on Deeper Levels]

“One of the things that we really noticed this year is the number and the quality and the diversity of what we call fringe events around the show, which really make IMEX America week what it is,” Bauer said. “In some ways, it has developed a life of its own in that way, both on the show floors and right across the city of Las Vegas. It allows people to have a really personalized journey throughout this week. You can have a week full of business and wellness, or you could have a week full of business parties, or a week full of inspiration with education, and that was really what we've always been aiming at; being able to give people that element of choice, of discovery.”

An Impactful Theme

Bauer emphasized that the 2024 event’s theme “impact”  will carry forward into its 2025 events in Las Vegas and Frankfurt, Germany.  

“In 2025, we will continue to use the talking point of impact, and the reason we've done that for two years is because impact is a very wide-ranging and a large theme and subject, and we really wanted to have time for us and the industry to explore it in many different ways,” she said. “For us, impact is really about three key areas: the impact that events can have; the impact that we can have as a business; but also the impact that we make on society and also how we relate to each other.”

While two major hurricanes hit the Southeast leading up to IMEX America, Bauer said even though some destinations, such as Asheville, North Carolina, were impacted greatly, it did little to dampen attendance at IMEX America.

“Certainly, a few of our suppliers couldn't make it or went home a little bit early,” Bauer said. “Also, we had a slightly higher number of hosted buyers, probably about 70 to 80 hosted buyers who either couldn't make it or went home a little bit early as a result of it. Equally, some of our Floridian hosted buyers and suppliers have chosen to extend their stay in Las Vegas and ride out the storm here.

“I would say, obviously, in summary, it wasn't a significant impact, but obviously it did impact maybe a couple hundred,” Bauer added.

MPI Reports Strong Numbers

MPI, organizer of the Smart Monday educational event at IMEX America, also reported record-breaking numbers.

“One of the most impressive numbers that we have is from our MPI Foundation,” said Drew Holmgreen, vice president of brand engagement for MPI, who noted that the MPI Foundation has given back $14.4 million over the course of its 40-year existence. “We're very, very proud of that, and exceedingly proud of what we did this year, achieving over half a million dollars projected in funds raised here at IMEX, which is really impressive, given that last year we raised $400,000. That money will go back into scholarships for the industry, back into grants for our chapters and back into research efforts with partners like IMEX. That's the highest amount of money we've ever raised at IMEX.”

[Related: Key Findings From MPI's New Meetings Outlook Report Released at IMEX]

Holmgreen also covered other positive numbers for the association, with Smart Monday drawing 1,600 attendees and 1,250 people attending one of MPI’s three keynotes over the course of the show, up from approximately 1,000 last year.

MPI also made a few announcements during IMEX America, introducing new tools to support chapters in managing their communications and events, along with inclusivity efforts to train volunteer leaders to combat human trafficking andharassment and foster diversity and inclusion awareness with a focus on unconscious bias.

MPI also rolled out an enhanced brand position titled “We Run the Show” and revealed that MPI Academy, the association’s professional development arm led by Vice President Jessie States, had awarded more than 1,000 certificates to industry professionals year-to-date and has launched four new certificate programs: Event Psychology Strategist; AI-Enhanced Event Professional Certificate; Event Welfare Champion; and Golf Tournament Planner.

PCMA Grows Its AI Footprint

PCMA used its time on the press conference stage to deliver some positive numbers of its own, focused on its Spark AI program for meeting and event professionals.

PCMA and CEMA President and CEO Sherrif Karamat joined Veemal Gungadin, CEO of Spark developer Gevme, to announce enhancements to the technology offering, including the ability to identify viable destinations and venues.  

Karamat said Spark, which was introduced nearly 16 months ago and is the only generative AI tool built by event professionals for event professionals, now counts more than 9,000 users. The Spark platform is also being integrated with Tempest, which will allow DMOs and venue representatives to enter their data for meeting and event planner users.

[Related: An Introduction to PCMA’s AI Tool, Project SPARK]

“Business events strategists are continually seeking opportunities to be as productive as possible while at the same time being mindful of their footprint and impact on destinations and venues,” Karamat said. “We continue to grow and evolve Spark in the AI business events industry space by creating alliances with organizations that can help bring the supply and demand side of the business together through a more seamless and efficient user experience.”

According to PCMA, several destinations, including Dallas, Detroit, Long Beach, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh, are in the early integration process with Spark through the alliance with Tempest.

Destinations International Reveals Annual Convention Case Study

Destinations International (DI) used its press conference slot to detail the recent “Tampa Case Study: Empowering Communities Through Inclusive Business Events” report.

The study detailed the planning of its 2024 Annual Convention in Tampa Bay after some of the association’s members expressed concern about recent anti-DEI legislation in Florida. In response to this, DI said it decided to proceed but set a goal of putting to the test its belief that deliberate engagement is more effective than boycotts.

According to DI, its 2024 Annual was the largest in the history of the association, drawing nearly 2,000 attendees and delivering a local economic impact of $3.78 million.

“Our vision extends beyond a single convention to creating a lasting imprint of inclusivity in Tampa and a model for others to follow,” said Sophia Hyder Hock, DI’s chief inclusion officer and lead author of the report, in a statement. “We sincerely hope this case study and toolkit serve as an informative and actionable document for destination organizations, event strategists, policy makers and anyone seeking to unleash the potential of travel to benefit local communities and foster social inclusion.”

The results are available here: https://destinationsinternational.org/tampa-case-study.

A gripping moment was saved for the end of the press conference presentation, when Connie Nuckolls Holliday, director of sales for western North Carolina’s Experience Asheville, which was greatly impacted by Hurricane Helene, detailed what the destination is going through and imploring the audience to not forget them and  continue booking business in the future so Asheville can recover.

Destination Puerto Rico Reports Record Momentum

"If I could summarize what has happened in Puerto Rico over the past four years in just one word, it is momentum," said Destination Puerto Rico CEO Brad Dean during the destination’s IMEX America press conference.  

This "historic and unprecedented momentum" includes four consecutive years of record visitation, the most in Puerto Rico's 500-year history. This in turn is spurring explosive investment and reinvestment in tourism product and infrastructure, including new and reopened properties from Hilton, Ritz-Carlton, Hard Rock and other international brands.

On the meetings and conventions front, 2023 bookings were up 8% compared to 2022 and 2.5-times more than from before the pandemic. Hosting 165 planners at 10 fams and attending 181 tradeshows and road shows in 88 cities apparently paid dividends this year, as in the first nine months of 2024, Destination Puerto Rico booked 239,075 room nights with an estimated economic impact of $192 million. The pipeline of future business, citywides included, is also at historic highs, Dean reported.

Disney Meetings & Events Launches New Programs

Disney Meetings & Events used IMEX America to launch a variety of innovative programs, including new teambuilding experiences that leverage the global entertainment giant’s unparalleled creative prowess.

New signature teambuilding and networking sessions will be centered on Disney’s Star Wars franchise and a new networking option will leverage Pirates of the Caribbean. Pixar’s Toy Story and Monsters, Inc., will also lend themes to teambuilding programs for meetings and events in 2025.

Disney Meetings & Events also announced additions to its opening general session options:  

• Digital Power Entrance, a high-energy audiovisual, musical kickoff
• Technically Speaking, which draws in attendees with surprise musical introductions of a host or executive
• Unwritten, an inspirational and heartwarming presentation that aims to bring the audience together
• Karaoke Surprise, which delivers a Disney twist to a traditional karaoke offering

Other announcements included a reimagined Disney Creative Studio to be unveiled at Walt Disney World Resort in early 2025 that allows meeting planners to collaborate with the Disney Meetings & Events team to create unique, creative programs that leverage everything from entertainment and content to decor, floral, audiovisual, catering and more. 

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