U.S. Travel Announces New City, Dates for IPW 2021

The U.S. Travel Association has announced that its annual trade show, IPW, will next be held in Las Vegas May 10-14, 2021.

This year’s IPW, scheduled to convene in Las Vegas on May 30, was forced to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The previously scheduled 2021 host city, Chicago, agreed to step aside for next year and will assume the host mantle in 2025.

“This is incredibly welcome good news amid the serious challenges facing the travel industry, the country and the world,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow. “Cancelling this year’s IPW was a difficult though clearly necessary call, and our future host cities came together to achieve a win-win outcome for the future of the event.”

Dow continued: “As we look to recover from this health emergency and the resulting economic crisis, it is fitting that we will be able to hold IPW in Las Vegas, a city that epitomizes the economic power of travel and tourism. We are deeply grateful to Chicago, which had one of the most successful IPWs in recent memory as a first-time host in 2014, for their flexibility, generosity and collaborative spirit.”

Other future host sites—Orlando in 2022, San Antonio in 2023, and Los Angeles in 2024—remain unchanged.

IPW is the country’s leading international inbound travel trade show, driving $5.5 billion in future travel to the United States. At IPW, travel buyers (including international tour operators, wholesalers and receptive operators) meet face-to-face with sellers of U.S. travel product (representing accommodations, destinations, attractions, retail, transportation companies and more), transacting business that would otherwise be generated only through an exhaustive number of around-the-world trips.

Another serendipity from the reshuffling of dates: IPW 2021 will be held in the newly constructed West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“Thank you to the leadership at the U.S. Travel Association for inviting Las Vegas to host its IPW 2021 trade show,” said Steve Hill, CEO/President of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “Like many of our industry colleagues, we are anxious to contribute to the travel and tourism recovery efforts, and know that IPW bringing travel trade decision makers from across the globe together is an important step in that process.”

“Brand USA is honored to serve as the Premier Sponsor for the U.S. Travel Association’s IPW. As the nation’s destination marketing organization, IPW offers Brand USA the biggest stage and brightest lights to showcase our collective success to a global network of key industry stakeholders,” said Christopher Thompson, Brand USA president and CEO. “We look forward to the opportunity to reconnect with industry friends and remind the world about all of the diverse destinations and amazing experiences across the United States. We will see you back in Las Vegas in 2021.”

“This important decision was a collaboration between U.S. Travel and Choose Chicago. Having the privilege of hosting IPW in June of 2025 in Chicago will be a tremendous opportunity for us and our partners,” said David Whitaker, President and CEO of Choose Chicago. “Equally important, we look forward to traveling to Las Vegas next year to continue our partnership and engagement with the global travel community.”