IMEX America 2026 Sets New Record for Meetings

October 19, 2026

(l-r) Carina Bauer, Rachel Benedick, Stephanie Glanzer, Steve Hill.

IMEX America 2026 brought more business, longer-term bookings and a focus on future industry talent to Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas this week. The 15th edition of the show drew more than 17,800 participants, including over 6,000 buyers, 4,800 of them hosted.

Five Years of Business in Three Days

Exhibitors and buyers scheduled a record 96,000 meetings during the three-day show, totaling 48,000 hours of business discussions. The tally included 82,000 one-to-one meetings and 14,000 group meetings and booth presentations.

Some of those conversations are already translating into future business. Marie Catherine Lacoste of Tourisme Montréal reported receiving two association RFPs: one for a medical congress for 1,500 attendees in July 2030, and another for a credit management congress and expo for up to 1,700 attendees in May 2030.

For Discover Puerto Rico, a connection made at IMEX America 2024 eventually led to a major music-related program. Joann Carlos Díaz of Discover Puerto Rico said the initial meeting with Vibee, a music-led destination experience company, focused on hotel room blocks for a major artist. The result was Bad Bunny’s 2025 residency, which featured 31 concerts and generated 48,255 room nights.

Building the Next Generation

The show also spotlighted efforts to bring new talent into the business events industry. The Brian D. Stevens Hospitality Education Fund launched Sunday to support student scholarships and industry research.

IMEX and MPI also outlined plans for a revamped Future Leaders Lab designed to attract students from a wider range of academic backgrounds, including economics and finance, and expand the program globally.

For Bailie Utley of Utah Valley University, the Future Leaders Forum offers a practical look at a career in events. As she prepares to graduate, she said her perspective has shifted from simply admiring conferences to thinking about how organizers can draw people in and encourage them to return.

At the closing press conference, IMEX CEO Carina Bauer said the show demonstrated the importance of commercial opportunities, new ideas and developing the industry’s future workforce.

“Despite some uncertainty in the wider world, there’s been a spirit of optimism across the show floor,” Bauer said. She added that buyers and exhibitors value the show’s well-prepared participants and the opportunity to make valuable connections, including through impromptu meetings.

Bauer spoke alongside IMEX Chairman Ray Bloom; Steve Hill, CEO and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority; Stephanie Glanzer, Chief Sales Officer and Senior Vice President at MGM Resorts International; and Rachel Benedick, Chief Revenue Officer at MPI.

IMEX America 2027 will take place Sept. 28-30 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.