LV lands trade show aimed at meetings industry

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009 | 2:40 p.m.

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IMEX, a major international exhibition for meetings and incentive travel professionals, will have a version in Las Vegas in 2011.

The inaugural IMEX America is planned at the Sands Expo Center Oct. 11-13, 2011, and is expected to draw leaders in the U.S. meetings industry as well as representatives from convention centers and large hotels from across the country.

“I have long felt that there was a need for a new dedicated and business-focused show in the United States,” said Ray Bloom, chairman of the IMEX Group. “Earlier this year, we began conversations with the industry about the level of interest.”

The show is important to Las Vegas because meetings planners from all over the country are expected to attend. While cities, hotels and convention authorities also will be present to offer proposals to those planners, Las Vegas and its resort community will have the advantage of being able to show and tell with tours of their facilities.

IMEX is collaborating with Dallas-based Meeting Professionals International and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to stage the new trade show.

The main IMEX show has been conducted for seven years in Frankfurt, and the LVCVA and several Las Vegas properties have attended annually to pitch the city and its hotels to convention, trade show and meetings planners.

Chris Meyer, vice president of convention sales for the LVCVA, introduced Bloom at a press conference at the Venetian announcing the new show on Wednesday.

Meyer said IMEX America is a major breakthrough for Las Vegas, which has seen much of its convention traffic evaporate during the economic downturn. Through August, 2009 convention visitation is down 30.2 percent from last year to 3.2 million visitors, according to the LVCVA.

Meyer said he expects the LVCVA and local properties to step up their marketing efforts in advance of the inaugural IMEX show with presentations at the Frankfurt show May 25-27.

Discussion: 6 comments so far…

By serious

10/28/09 at 2:51 p.m.

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A positive move for our visitor industry...but, sadly two years from now, and then a period of time before we see any new business as a result of this meeting taking place here. We desperately need more conventions...let's get out and sell the room rates, entertainment, exhibit and meeting space, weather, etc. Let's go after every single convention in American and get them here...even the scientific and educational meetings...visitors are visitors!
By Teaser

10/28/09 at 2:51 p.m.

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What? Do none of the nasty bloggers want to write anything about a trade show designed to cater to people who might hold meetings in Vegas? This sounds like some good news for a change. There must be a new adage: If you don't have anything nasty to say, don't say anything at all.
By stevem

10/28/09 at 3:08 p.m.

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this is good, but it's really just filling the hole left by other conventions that have left.

vegas stuck it to the convention industry for years and as soon as those contracts were up, they left.
By rabmag

10/28/09 at 6:56 p.m.

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I think Las Vegas needs to first correct the problems that drove away the convention customers in the first place.

For instance one of the attendees this year claimed that they will be hosting all future shows in Texas because of the Las Vegas Conventions requirement that only Union Workers can transport and set up booths within the convention halls. Apparently, the convention authority in Texas has stopped that requirement there so exhibitors can save a lot of money.

The next one is rate gouging by hotels, vendors, and others who jack up their prices when major conventions are in town. Not to be controlled by the greedy, many attendees have simply resorted to "room sharing" - where only one room is rented but is occupied by four or more attendees while others get their coffee, snacks or meals out away from the convention floors and casinos to cut costs.

However the complaints by the attendees to the sponsors of the conventions has resulted in many conventions leaving Las Vegas to be hosted by less greedy and more exhibitor/visitor friendly cities.
By Bertsos

10/28/09 at 8:07 p.m.

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This has to be Obama's fault.
By wizardofOz

10/28/09 at 9:08 p.m.

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I see. Meetings about having Meetings.

Verrrry Innterresttingg....

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