Business, innovation, education – IMEX America 2016 is set to inspire

Strong demand from a multitude of new exhibitors and hosted buyer groups means that IMEX America 2016 offers ever more compelling opportunities to do business and network.

Business power & connections

IMEX America, taking place 18 – 20 October in Las Vegas, enables buyers to meet with a vast range of best-in-class meeting industry suppliers from across the United States, as well as from around the world. This year’s show features a diverse range of first time exhibitors including Albuquerque CVB, Air Partner, ALON Las Vegas, Destination Michigan, EventBank, Hanoi, Luxury Brands and Slovenia. They are joined by established exhibitors, 46 of whom have already increased their stand space such as Commune Hotels & Resorts, Etouches, Ritz-Carlton Hotels, NYC & Company, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau and Meet Puerto Rico.

With networking always a key objective for attendees, opportunities to meet, connect and build on relationships are vital to the overall show experience. New in 2016, IMEX America will offer buyers an opportunity to make valuable peer connections through the use of the Zenvoy matching app which will facilitate introductions between buyers who share common attributes. In addition, the IMEX hosted buyer lounge will feature a new Networking Hub with the IMEX hosted buyer team facilitating networking sessions at key times throughout the show.

Education from industry innovators

As well as the business and networking opportunities, buyers and suppliers can also learn from industry innovators with IMEX’s comprehensive education programme covering insights and innovations from the best in the industry. Two key themes will be featured throughout the show – the Sharing Economy and Where Personal Meets Professional which focuses on how personal development and wellbeing can benefit the individual both in and out of the office.

Each day (Monday to Thursday) begins with a distinguished keynote speaker, and the week kicks off with a dedicated day of education on Smart Monday (17 October), powered by MPI and supported by other association partners.

The first MPI keynote launches the Where Personal Meets Professional theme on Smart Monday. Jon Bradshaw, CEO of Meetology® will share recent research on how to connect, interact and communicate more effectively in Meetology—the fascinating science powering interpersonal communication. On Tuesday, Jay Samit, widely regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on disruption and innovation, will discuss the importance of adaptability and creativity to keep up with an ever changing business landscape in Disrupt You! - Strategies for Billion Dollar Success in this Era of Endless Innovation. Delegates can get a glimpse into the future with Pablos Holman on Wednesday. A futurist and inventor, whose projects include the world's smallest PC, a Wi-Fi seeking robot and mosquito zapping lasers, Pablos will deliver Innovate or Die Trying – From the Mind of World Renown Hacker. The final day of the show (Thursday) begins with a fun keynote courtesy of ‘perpetual optimist’ Tami Evans. She is set to deliver a humorous take on enhancing communication, engagement and confidence in Half full of it: activating optimism and other hard-core soft skills.

Whether new or established in the industry, meeting professionals can discover hundreds of education sessions across the three-day show, offering an effective learning experience for all levels. These sessions cover 10 tracks of specialist interest, in a range of learning formats including hands-on, creative sessions at the popular Play Room which offers a light-hearted way to learn how to create interactive events and increase audience engagement.

Community connection

For visitors who want to connect with the wider community outside of the show, IMEX has participatory programmes in place to give back to the local Las Vegas community, with long-standing relationships with local charities Opportunity Village and The Shade Tree shelter, plus new initiative Garbage Grabbers – for which IMEX is inviting volunteers to join them on a clean-up of walking trails and parks organised by the Outside Las Vegas Foundation.

Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group, explains: “With each show we aim to refine and improve the process of doing business, gaining valuable education and making important connections. We understand the significance and the balance that each of these three pillars holds for both our buyers and our suppliers and aim to make their week at IMEX America their most valuable week of the year. We are particularly pleased this year to be using the latest technology solutions available, to facilitate peer to peer connections and believe that this will bring an important added benefit to our buyers. As always, we are very much looking forward to hosting the meetings world to Las Vegas this fall.”

For more information about registering to be a hosted buyer at IMEX America please visit http://www.imexamerica.com/hosted-buyers/hosted-buyer-program/how-to-qualify-apply/

For more information on IMEX America 2016 visit http://www.imexamerica.com