LAS VEGAS—The second edition of IMEX America, held Oct. 9 to 11 at the Sands Expo here, closed out another very successful year, drawing approximately 2,400 buyers that represent a 20 percent increase over 2011.
And, according to IMEX Group Chairman Ray Bloom, the growth curve will only grow for next year’s show.
“There will be a significant increase in the number of hosted buyers next year,” Bloom said, cheekily adding later that he could not go into specifics until reporting back to his board. “We went from 2,000 to 2,400 [hosted buyers] last year, so I’ll tell you right now that 2,500 [next year] won’t do it.”
Bloom said that due to the show exceeding its capacity for exhibitors—totaling 2,413 exhibiting companies from 148 countries at this year’s event, representing a 29 percent increase—IMEX America will move to two larger halls at the Sands Expo for its 2013 show, scheduled for Oct. 15 to 17.
Bloom added that IMEX America drew some 1,700 attendees in addition to the 2,400 hosted buyers, and that many of those would have qualified for the hosted program but in many cases could not accept hosted trips because of company policies.
The number of individual appointments increased from 25,000 in 2011 to just under 40,000 this year, Bloom said.
IMEX America partner MPI, which managed the Smart Monday education component that attracted some 1,000 attendees, also chimed in on the show’s success.
“MPI’s mission is to make sure that we deliver on education,” said Cindy D’Aoust, COO and interim CEO of MPI. “We’re exploring how to bring more education to [IMEX’s show in] Frankfurt. For us, this is just the beginning.”
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority added to the accolades.
“This is the second year and the growth of IMEX is really important,” said Cathy Tull, vice president of marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, attributing the success to the strength of both the IMEX brand and of Las Vegas as the top convention destination in the U.S. “We look forward to next year, and hopefully a very long relationship.”
Tull, it seems, may get her wish, as Bloom said IMEX America is currently in negotiations to hold the event at the Sands Expo for the next seven years.
“We’re talking about dates up to 2020 at the Sands,” he said. “So if anyone wants to talk about dates [to host future events], they better be after 2020.”