IMEX America, the international meetings industry trade show took place in Las Vegas on 10–13 October. For the eighth time, the Polish Tourism Organisation was the organiser of the Polish national stand, where companies involved in the professional organisation of meetings and conference facilities presented their offers.

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This year's Polish exhibitors included: LOT Polish Airlines, DMC Poland, Mazurkas DMC Poland, Kraków Convention Bureau, ICE Kraków Congress Centre and, for the first time, G2A Arena – Convention and Exhibition Centre in Podkarpackie.

Our country's promotional activities were also supported by those present at the stand, John Petkus, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in the United States, and Bartosz Szajda, Director of ZOPOT [Polish Tourism Organisation International Offices] in Chicago. 

This year's IMEX America trade show was again held in a stationary format that fostered the establishment and maintenance of business contacts. On 10 October, the industry association events – Smart Monday, took place as part of the trade show.

The Polish presence at the trade show was accompanied by the following themes:

• 61^st ICCA Congress will take place on 6–9 November this year in Kraków at the ICE Kraków Congress Centre. Poland’s promotion for the congress was crucial due to the last moment of opportunity to influence the registration of participants for the congress. It is also an occasion to show that in Poland, despite the difficult situation and the war in Ukraine, work and life are ‘normal’ and many international events are being held.
• Destination Poland – cities congress promotion according to the ICCA ranking: Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Katowice, Łódź.
• 20^th birthday of Poland Convention Bureau PTO

It is worth noting that two additional events were held as part of the Polish appearance on 12 October. The first at the ICCA stand was to promote Poland in view of the 61^st ICCA Congress.

"The event organised at the ICCA stand was crucial due to the last moment of opportunity to influence congress registration and to communicate that in Poland, despite the difficult situation and the war in Ukraine, work and life are “normal” and many international events are being held. Additional Polish touches prepared by Kraków and the PCB PTO were regional products, meads and sweets from Poland. The meeting continued at the Polish stand, where the Discover Polish Spirit Happy Hour was successfully held together with the Exhibitors",says Aneta Książek, Chief Conference Expert at the Polish Tourism Organisation.

You can find more information about events at the Polish stand on the reactivated Twitter profile of Poland Convention Bureau PTO https://mobile.twitter.com/polandcvb #DestinationPoland #PolandCVB #EventprofsPL

Our activities in this area resulted in a high ranking for the most influential profiles at IMEX America.

Trade Show summary

IMEX America is one of the world's most important events, for the meetings industry only, which comes together to promote its products, destinations, and to find new partners and inspiration for meetings and events.

Ray Bloom, Chairman of the IMEX Group, announced that 12,000 people attended IMEX America, including more than 4,000 buyers (3,300 of whom participated in the Hosted Buyers programme). Attendance at IMEX22 was 45% higher compared to the previous year, mainly due to the easing of travel restrictions. Interestingly, 40% of returning exhibitors rented more stand area compared to the previous edition of the trade show.

Overall, international exhibitors have returned in large numbers. Of the exhibitors who doubled the size of their stands, 24% were from North America, 23% from hotel chains, 15% from Europe, and 12% from Asia. Exhibitors from Latin America and MICE-related technologies have also recorded a significant increase.