IMEX America 2024 ended right this moment with a remaining depend of 15,500 attendees (5,500 consumers and 86,000 pre-scheduled conferences) strolling via the doorways at Mandalay Bay Conference Heart in Las Vegas. Along with visiting a world of locations, accommodations and tech suppliers, attendees took in 1,600 training classes on the present flooring and one other 1,600 nuggets of knowledge have been delivered to those that got here in a day early for Assembly Professionals Worldwide (MPI)’s Good Monday. That is a rise of 30% over 2023’s Good Monday, unfold throughout 46 concurrent classes, in comparison with 30 in 2023.
Expanded keynote classes included Andre Norman who spoke on “Jail to Harvard: The Energy of Perception and Self-Motivation,” Justin Wren, who shared his insights on “Goal. Efficiency. Influence” and Olympia LePoint who talked about “Making New Synthetic Intelligence Know-how Moral & Correct.”
Learn Extra: Your IMEX America Recap Day One
“Our objective is to offer a platform to encourage progress and constructive scale,” mentioned IMEX CEO Carina Bauer. She famous the quantity, high quality and variety of fringe occasions across the present. She described the dynamic as a partnership with the hosted purchaser commerce present because the sturdy coronary heart making house for companions to create their energetic activations on the present flooring and past. The top result’s every week the place folks select their expertise whether or not it’s #Drymex, alcohol-free occasions or celebrations that go deep into the night time.
A brand new related expertise for advertising and marketing executives was a boutique Model Expertise Summit created in partnership with InVision, LVCVA and Allegiant Stadium Non-public Occasions. Senior stage marketeers gathered for conversations about methods to higher use occasions as a key advertising and marketing channel to drive model loyalty, belief, engagement and enterprise outcomes. “There’s typically a disconnect between advertising and marketing and enterprise occasions and we’re aiming to shut the hole,” she mentioned.
Learn Extra: Your IMEX America Recap: Day Two
The speaking level of “Influence” got here to life will proceed into 2025 as IMEX labored with MGM Resorts to shrink the occasion’s footprint much more to keep up zero-waste standing by enhancing waste diversion.
Explosive Las Vegas Progress
Rebecca DeLuca, vice chairman of vacation spot gross sales with Las Vegas Conference and Guests Authority, pointed to the dramatic deliberate implosion, fireworks and drone present that demolished the Tropicana Resort in the course of Tuesday night time/ Wednesday morning to make method for a baseball stadium on The Strip for example of how town is consistently reinventing itself for locals and the greater than 40 million guests who come to city annually, as many as 17% labeled as enterprise occasions clients. She thanked Bauer for committing that IMEX would proceed to return to Las Vegas and the utterly reworked and upgraded Mandalay Bay indefinitely on behalf of 420,000 hospitality employees within the metropolis of Las Vegas.
Learn Extra: Good Monday Kicks Off IMEX America
Document Charitable Contributions
Additionally seeing file numbers was 20-year associate MPI’s Basis which raised greater than half 1,000,000 {dollars} this yr from activations comparable to Rendezvous after-party on Wednesday night time at Drai’s Nightclub. MPI Basis makes use of the $14.4 million it has raised over the 40 years of the group for scholarships, grants and analysis.
In 2025 MPI will introduce new expertise instruments to assist chapters handle occasions and advertising and marketing initiatives, and launch new DEI coaching to make sure chapters stay inclusive and welcoming to all, based on Drew Holmgreen, MPI Chief Expertise Officer.
Learn Extra: MPI Gears Up for EMEC 2025 in Türkiye
MPI Academy continues to develop and primarily based on insights from our neighborhood, the MPI Academy will introduce new studying alternatives and contemporary material consultants to assist our members keep aggressive.
Drew Holmgreen, MPI chief expertise officer, pointed to a slight improve from final yr of respondents to the corporate’s Q3 Conferences Outlook report on developments who say they’re optimistic in regards to the outlook for enterprise circumstances and budgets for 2025. “This indicators confidence within the monetary well being of the business,” he mentioned.
Learn Extra: Persevering with Training with MPI Academy
MPI launched the outcomes of its Q3 Conferences Outlook, which supplies a complete forecast of developments and expectations for the business. In a slight improve from final yr, 72% of respondents report an optimistic outlook for enterprise circumstances and budgets for 2025, signaling confidence within the monetary well being of the business.
Moreover, 76% of respondents reported favorable projections for in-person occasion attendance, which highlights the continued resilience and progress of face-to-face occasions. Respondents reported essentially the most balanced market that we’ve seen shortly, with a mixture of 43% of respondents describing the present surroundings as a vendor’s market, 31% as a purchaser’s market and 26% as a balanced market. This exhibits stability available in the market, which is able to profit each consumers and sellers within the yr forward.
MPI World Training Congress (WEC) in St. Louis from June 18-20, is predicted to attract 2,000 for training and networking. San Antonio will host WEC June 1-4, 2026.
MPI not too long ago concluded its first-ever takeover of the EVENT in Ottawa with 300 attendees centered on the theme of “Origin Tales.”
MPI, in collaboration with VisitDetroit, launched its Workforce Growth program in September 2024 with a chapter toolkit that includes a profession exploration information for native faculties. As a part of this effort, MPI launched “Conferences 101” for secondary college students, with certificates being delivered at three Detroit faculties this fall. This system goals to encourage the subsequent era of pros by educating college students on profession alternatives throughout the conferences and occasions business.
Learn Extra: Empowering Future Planners
MPI has launched two new business affiliation partnerships this summer time, including Society of Authorities Assembly Professionals and LGBT Assembly Professionals Affiliation to its record of companions.
As well as, MPI along with the Worldwide Affiliation for Exhibitions and Occasions (IAEE) and the Society of Incentive Journey Excellence (SITE) has relaunched the International MICE Collaborative, delivering the all-new certificates, MICE Fundamentals: Introduction to Convention, Exhibition & Incentive Occasions, for its debut supply at IMEX America Good Monday. The certificates provides a strategic overview of all three occasion varieties for each rising professionals and seasoned professionals who need a greater understanding of the enterprise occasion ecosystem.
Learn Extra: Meals Donating Legal guidelines
MPI is collaborating with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to deal with international meals waste discount methods. In 2024, WWF performed a research, Unveiling the Urge for food for Change, which discovered that whereas many assembly professionals acknowledge meals waste as a major challenge, actionable options stay restricted. Along with venues and international shoppers, MPI and WWF are setting new international norms for decreasing meals waste via the DREAM initiative, which stands for Divert, Get well, Empower (and Educate), Regulate, and Measure.
Sustainable DC
Vacation spot DC promoted assets that may assist assembly professionals organizing occasions within the space be a drive for good. The vacation spot group helps Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Sustainable DC 2.0 initiative, which has the objective of creating DC the “healthiest, greenest, most livable metropolis.”
Washington, D.C. is the primary LEED-Platinum metropolis on the planet, the main U.S. metropolis for parks and encompasses greater than 140 miles of motorbike lanes and paths. Assembly professionals can discover a record of companies which have glad all program necessities and decide to the continual enchancment of their choices and providers in ways in which advance environmental safety, fairness and financial growth for the long run right here.
Go to Lauderdale Introduced the Seashore to Las Vegas
Go to Lauderdale made a daring assertion with eye-catching digital activations on the outside of Sphere–the world’s largest LED display screen, often called the exosphere. The larger-than-life show showcased Larger Fort Lauderdale’s seashores in dynamic shade.
“Our mission is to repeatedly push the boundaries within the journey business, and that is one more method we’re solidifying our repute for being daring and modern,” mentioned Stacy Ritter, president and CEO of Go to Lauderdale. “By bringing the seashore to Las Vegas, we’re showcasing the power and fantastic thing about Larger Fort Lauderdale and reminding everybody that our various, welcoming vacation spot provides one thing for each kind of traveler—from household holidays to luxurious escapes.”
Orlando’s Highlighted Various New Openings
Orange County Conference Heart, which is increasing so as to add 60,000 sq. ft of assembly house and an 80,000-square-foot ballroom to the North-South constructing, generated $3.9 billion in direct, oblique and induced impacts during the last yr, based on a brand new research by PFM Group Consulting. The OCCC has averaged almost 200 occasions lately, attracting an estimated 1.5 million attendees to the market on an annual foundation.
Town’s theme parks are opening main new experiences together with the 2025 debut of Common Epic Universe–a wholly new theme park–at Common Orlando Resort. Disney Experiences not too long ago introduced the most important enlargement ever on the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort. In Spring 2025, SeaWorld Orlando will unveil the world’s first-of-its-kind Arctic flying theater which may have riders expertise the icy area as in the event that they have been actually there.
Moreover, Disney Conferences & Occasions is unveiling new assembly merchandise and assets together with a artistic studio at Walt Disney World Resort in early 2025 the place assembly professionals can collaborate with Disney Conferences & Occasions consultants.
LA Prepares to be Pink-carpet Prepared for Large Occasions on the Method
Preparations to host the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics, Summit of the Americas, FIFA World Cup and the Tremendous Bowl will depart an expanded conferences infrastructure based on Adam Burke, president and CEO of Los Angeles Tourism & Conference Board.
Modernization of LAX, together with the automated folks mover and direct Metro service to downtown LA, ought to be accomplished inside 18 to 24 months, making occasions at an expanded Los Angeles Conference Heart extra accessible. The addition of seven,500 new rooms within the final 36 months and the various product choices at numerous worth factors will assist broaden what teams come to town as properly.
Notes from Wellness Marketing consultant David T. Stevens
As the ultimate day of IMEX unfolded, the “final day power” on the present flooring was palpable, with quite a lot of wellness and experiential actions guiding us via most individuals’s want for restoration from Rendezvous the night time earlier than.
Learn Extra: 7 Methods to Embed Wellness in Your Conferences
Kicking off at 10:00 AM, the session on “Males’s Well being: Avoiding a Public Well being Disaster” introduced an vital dialogue to the forefront. With a give attention to the wellness of our male attendees, this dialog was important in addressing the often-overlooked features of males’s well being. Attendees engaged in a considerate dialogue round preventative care and life-style modifications, which helped shine a lightweight on the rising public well being issues affecting males globally.
At midday, a much-needed mid-day recharge got here within the type of somatic breathwork with Sepideh Eivazi on the “Simply Breathe” session within the Properly-Being Wheel positioned within the Inspiration Hub. Sepideh’s steerage via conscious respiratory strategies helped many attendees discover a second of stillness amidst the busy surroundings. The session was an ideal reminder of the ability of breath in managing stress and staying grounded, one thing each occasion skilled can recognize after a whirlwind week.
At 2:00 PM, Google Xi returned with Storycraft Lab of their CoLaboratory on the Inspiration Hub. This time, they delved into the theme of “Belonging” utilizing nature as a strong metaphor. Via interactive workout routines that integrated noticing, play and gratitude, contributors explored how nature’s rhythms may encourage a deeper sense of neighborhood. The session was insightful, leaving attendees with a better understanding of how we are able to domesticate belonging in each private {and professional} settings.
Learn Extra: XI Days Inclusion Expertise
For these needing a quiet second to recenter, the Resilience Area powered by Google Xi and Hey! Vacation spot Administration, was accessible at Bayside B. This calm haven provided an oasis for leisure and reflection. Close by, a quiet house dressed by Lux Leases added an additional layer of serenity for attendees looking for an much more intimate setting for mindfulness.
In the meantime, the Neighborhood Desk on the Properly-Being Wheel grew to become a gathering spot for heartfelt conversations, significantly round parenting, with a give attention to E2 kids—these with twin exceptionalities. This house provided each empathy and understanding, as attendees shared their distinctive parenting experiences and exchanged worthwhile insights on navigating life with E2 kids.
On the Inspiration Hub, attendees may additionally take part in one-on-one life teaching classes specializing in Ayurvedic well being, stress administration, emotional intelligence, and resilience. These personalised classes offered sensible recommendation and wellness methods, serving to attendees carry classes from the occasion again into their day by day lives.
For these trying to transfer their our bodies and have some enjoyable, Pickleball was nonetheless accessible as a playful reset. In the meantime, creativity was on show on the collaborative murals sponsored by Paintillio and the Hospital Arts Basis, the place attendees may contribute to a fantastic and significant collective artwork venture.
A very memorable expertise got here from testing Mixly’s associate show with Laborious Rock Lodges within the hosted consumers lounge. Their “Style the Music” expertise allowed attendees to select a favourite tune on Spotify, which Mixly’s AI would then use to create a customized cocktail or mocktail recipe. Watching the robotic bartender deliver these drinks to life was nothing wanting mesmerizing, providing a novel mix of expertise and creativity.
Including to the thrill, I took half within the MLB VR Residence Run Derby expertise, the place you can select your favourite stadium and take a look at your batting abilities in a digital actuality setting. To my shock, I hit 7 house runs in a row, inserting me seventh on the leaderboard for the day—a enjoyable and aggressive spotlight that not solely acquired the blood flowing, however added to the day’s leisure.
Because the day wound down, everybody made certain to get of their remaining steps for the Wellbeing Problem, sponsored by Caesars Leisure Conferences and Occasions and powered by Heka Well being. The problem inspired attendees to remain lively all through the occasion, and those that met their step objectives had the prospect to win some nice prizes. It was a becoming strategy to cap off the day, making certain everybody left with each a way of accomplishment and a dedication to wellness.
With a mixture of studying, motion, and significant connections, IMEX’s remaining day was a testomony to the ability of wellness within the conferences and occasions business. It was the right near an inspiring week, leaving attendees energized and able to implement these wellness methods in their very own lives and workspaces.
