According to a press release, the numbers for the show, which took place October 10 to 13 at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, reveal that business is now firmly on an international level with over 4,000 buyers from 69 countries attending. A positive sign for the industry’s health is that both agency and corporate planner numbers, representing 56 percent and 20 percent of hosted buyers respectively, were on a par with last year.

Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group, sums up last month’s IMEX America as full post-show statistics are released: “While last year’s show was the celebratory ‘coming back together’ the industry craved, this October’s edition was the business-fuelled ‘bounce-back’ we’ve all been waiting for.”

The global buyers out in force at the show brought with them substantial budgets – with three quarters having annual budgets of over $1 million and 39 percent having spending power of $5m+. Many had long-term plans, with RFPs (requests for proposals) and business being placed as far out as 2028.

As ever, business meetings formed the bedrock of the show, with 62,000 appointments between buyers and suppliers over three days. These comprised individual, group appointments and open-to-all booth presentations.

Over 3,300 exhibiting companies from 180+ countries including Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and the Middle East took part. Many had been unable to attend in 2021 and made a welcome return including Abu Dhabi, Australia, Bahamas, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Dubai, Greece, Hawaii, Ireland, Switzerland, Turkey and New Zealand.

“From our conversations with buyers and suppliers on-site, we know that this year’s show was characterized by the return of global business and strong business pipelines running as far ahead as 2028”, explains Carina Bauer. “We’ve even had one commentator refer to it as ‘an ironman event’ due to the energy and commitment required to leverage all the opportunities on offer!”