IPW 2025 Emphasizes the U.S. is Open for Business

MADDY RYLEY, MANAGING EDITOR

• June 30, 2025

CHICAGO — IPW 2025, held by U.S. Travel Association, welcomed more than 5,000 attendees from 64 countries to McCormick Place in Chicago for its annual trade show. This year IPW featured more than 950 exhibitors across nearly 150,000 square feet of exhibit space — up from 2024’s 142,000 square feet. 

With the overarching goal of bringing more travelers to the U.S., over the course of the three-day show, more than 100,000 business appointments took place, connecting the U.S. travel industry with buyers and media from around the world.  

The major focus of this year’s event was on ways to increase lawful visitation to the U.S. Data from U.S. Travel and Rockport Analytics project that the impact of IPW 2025 will be significant, accounting for a projected 10.9 million visitors over the next three years. That projected number is expected to generate $26.1 billion in spending while supporting 63,000 American jobs annually. 

“The total direct spending value of the travel industry in the United States is $1.3 trillion every year, and almost $200 billion of that comes from international visitors,” stated U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman. “Yet over the last decade, America has lost ground in the global travel market. To reclaim our share, we must deliver a stronger, more seamless experience that meets the expectations of today’s international travelers.”   

Another theme of this year’s event was that the U.S. is open for business and ready to welcome the world to the country, and that includes providing a more seamless experience to international travelers.  

Fast Facts from Destinations 

TSE was on the ground for the Media Marketplace at IPW, and got the inside scoop from Visit Anaheim, Reno-Tahoe, Visit Dallas and Visit Milwaukee.  

Visit Anaheim

Visit Anaheim is in a period of transformation, looking to bring new experiential offerings into the mix for events taking place in the city, including at the Anaheim Convention Center, the largest convention center on the West Coast. 

One such example is Visit Anaheim’s partnership with VidCon, a creator-conference. For this year’s event, the show team worked with the DMO to create the “Hail a Helicopter” experience. This experience served as a giveaway that gave lucky fans the opportunity to win a helicopter ride directly to VidCon. 

In development in Orange County is OCVibe, a $4 billion mixed-use development project that’s bringing a concert venue, hotels, offices and housing to the area surrounding the Honda Center. The development is slated to be complete by 2028, and Visit Anaheim has already begun booking events into these spaces.  

The existing Hilton Anaheim is also undergoing a significant multi-million-dollar renovation, which includes the redesign of its 1,574 guest rooms and suites, along with upgrades to its meeting and event space and outdoor spaces. It also includes a restaurant and bar rebranding. 

AT IPW, Visit Anaheim unveiled its immersive trade show booth, which is the first public expression of the DMO’s broader rebrand that’s currently underway. The new booth also features a digital video display that highlights iconic locations in Anaheim and reflects the organization’s journey into the “Golden Decade,” marked by development and major events coming to the city. 

Visit Reno Tahoe 

The Reno-Sparks Convention Center offers 600,901 square feet of adaptable, ground-level exhibition and meeting space, which includes 382,303 square feet of ground level, contiguous exhibition space. The facility also features 110,000 square feet of meeting space that’s divisible into 53 meeting rooms.  

The Reno Events Center is located in the center of downtown Reno and offers 118,000 square feet of space including 56,000 square feet of column-free exhibit space and nine meeting rooms and suites. The facility also features a 14,000-square-foot exhibit-friendly, pre-function concourse. Within three blocks of the Reno Events Center, there are more than 6,500 hotel rooms. 

Reno-Tahoe is also home to seven resort hotels, ranging from 800 to 2,000 rooms. These all-in-one properties also feature ample meeting space for events as well as smaller trade show capacities. Throughout the destination, there are venues ready to be activated like the Kingpin Club by Brunswick, which can offer a high-class, VIP experience within the National Bowling Stadium.  

Visit Dallas

The expansion of the reimagined Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas (KBHCCD) has broken ground in the city. The more than $3-billion project is expected to be completed in 2028 with the convention center opening in Q1 of 2029 for events. The facility is still open for business throughout its expansion, just with a reduced floor plan as sections D, E and F of the building are decommissioned.  

The project is going to include adding entertainment around the convention center and creating connectivity between neighborhoods in the city through transit transformation and economic revitalization. 

Coming to the city in 2026 is the FIFA World Cup 26™ International Broadcast Centre. An estimated 2,000 representatives from broadcast media will convene in Dallas from January through July as the KBHCCD serves as the global broadcast operations center for the tournament taking place across cities in Mexico, Canada and the U.S. 

Visit Milwaukee 

Milwaukee’s Baird Center had its grand reopening in 2024, following a $456-million expansion and modernization project that saw it add 111,305 square feet of prime exhibit space, 35,5000 square feet of meeting space, 32,000 square feet of flex space and 20 breakout rooms, according to TSE data. The facility now offers more than 300,000 square feet of contiguous exhibition space, 52 meeting rooms and beautiful spaces like the rooftop Baird Ballroom and Baird Sky View Terrace. 

The expansion earned the Baird Center LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its state-of-the-art green building features and use of recycled materials like wood and steel in its construction. Other sustainable features include a solar roof, bird-friendly glass, a stormwater detention system, and an ORCA food digester.  

Around the city there are a plethora of places to activate, including museums like the Harley-Davidson Museum and Wisconsin’s Natural History Museum, which serve as great off-site venues. The city is also known for its breweries, and it offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to dine in the Historic Miller Caves, which is part of the Molson Coors brewery complex in the city. 

In development is a new music venue from FPC Live, a Madison, Wis.-based joint venture between Live Nation and Frank Productions, which will bring a venue with a capacity of 4,500 to the Deer District of the city. Next to the concert venue, the city is slated to construct its first Moxy Hotel. 

Future Dates 

IPW 2026 will take place in Greater Fort Lauderdale from May 17-21.