As the 5^th IMEX America wrapped up in Las Vegas, records were broken across the board, with a total of 3,100 companies representing 150 countries exhibiting, including 80 new booths and 56 expanded booth.

In addition, the IMEX hosted buyer program brought a record 3,000 buyers from 54 countries to the show, for a total 10,600 people participating in the event.

There were 66,000 business appointments of which more than 57,000 were one-to-one appointments and booth presentations.

More than 40 leading buyers from the corporate sector also came for the annual Executive Meetings Forum. With senior executives from Merck, Cisco Systems and Wells Fargo attending, together they controlled annual meetings budgets in excess of $3 billion.

For video highlights by Convention News Television click HERE. The event was held Oct. 12-15 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center.

Ray Bloom, wo heads the IMEX Group,  reported that Smart Monday, powered by MPI, and supported by association partners, IAPCO, ICCA, ASAE, PCMA, HSMAI, DMAI, SITE, GBTA, GMIC and ECM, had once again grown and developed.

“I’d like to congratulate MPI, our strategic partner and premier education provider, on the tremendous success of Smart Monday, which grows year after year,” Bloom said.

He added, “This day of high level education adds a tremendously valuable extra dimension to people’s overall experience of the show. The daily MPI key note sessions have also featured very interesting speakers and generated a great response.”

A new educational initiative, the Play Room, sponsored by Play with a Purpose, drew 350 participants on the first day and several hundred more when it moved on to the showfloor for three days.

The second PCMA Business School at IMEX America, a business improv workshop presented and led by Bob Kulhan, a professor at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, also attracted a packed house of attendees. The success of this program has resulted in the introduction of the PCMA Business School at IMEX in Frankfurt in April 2016, according to IMEX officials.

There were several networking and education events held by different associations throughout the week, such as the MPI Foundation Rendezvous,IMEX America Night, Association Evening and the CIC Hall of Leaders.

“We are delighted that so many industry events are coming together here using IMEX America as a hub for successful fundraising events such as the MPI Foundation Rendezvous, the CEIR Golf Classic and SITE Nite, as well as education activities, social networking and industry meetings,” Bloom added.

The new wellness initiative, “Be Well at IMEX,” also was introduced and included a meditation room and the first IMEXrun Las Vegas - Inspired by Rio de Janeiro, in advance of the Olympics. Sponsored by RioTur and Embratur and organized by sports by tlc, the route took in a section of the famous Las Vegas Strip. Four hundred and twelve exhibitors and buyers took part in the run.