IMEX America, the international events-industry trade show that took place Oct. 7-9 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, recorded its largest attendance in the event's 14-year history, welcoming 17,000 participants to the show floor.
The record number of visitors came despite the U.S. federal government's shutdown, which is slowing down air traffic and customs. Kevin Hinton, CAE, managing director of group travel for the U.S. Travel Association who was recently named a Meetings Industry Influencer, told NMG that he had not heard of any international IMEX attendees experiencing customs issues in getting to Las Vegas. [Note: Look for Hinton's full take on the government shutdown and how it is affecting the U.S. economy and its global perception next week.]
"This has been a record-breaking week where we've seen firsthand how transformative it is for our industry to meet face to face, to shake hands, do business and build bonds," said IMEX CEO Carina Bauer. "The strength in numbers across the board is a sign of a sector that's both purposeful and powerful right now."
Looking at the future of the industry
A number of significant announcements by events industry organizations and leaders were made during the show. The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence and the Incentive Research Foundation revealed highlights of the 2025 Incentive Travel Index; Maritz, Freeman and American Express released trends reports, all of which the NMG team will cover in-depth in upcoming content. Overall, the trends point to high costs being the biggest headache for event planners; budgets are keeping pace with these costs; the economic outlook for hotels, aside from the luxury sector, is slowing down. An eye-popping takeaway came from the incentive research: Younger generations would prefer to see Taylor Swift in concert than see Hawaii.
IMEX offered a full roster of education sessions that included more than 150 options. The learning began the day before the trade show opened, on Oct. 6, when Smart Monday, powered by Meeting Professionals International, took place. The show also featured dozens of activations attendees experienced in and around the exhibit hall, including a railway station, VR baseball, an F1 simulator and a graphic wall with giveaway seed packets.
Welcoming the neurodiverse
In other news, the IMEX Group, the American Psychological Association and the Australian Psychological Association worked together to launch a new standardized framework for including neurodivergent participants' needs in event design. As a result, IMEX achieved the organizations' Level III Comprehensive Neurodivergent Accommodation, the highest level of endorsement, signifies a fully inclusive event, with design strategies that ensure accessibility for all attendees, integrating it into every stage of planning, execution and feedback.
IMEX America 2026 will take place Oct. 13-15 at Mandalay Bay; Bauer announced at the close of the show that IMEX will continue to hold the show at the property through to 2030.
