Organiser-checked dates for MICE trade shows, plus how hosted-buyer programmes work, the IMEX and IBTM circuit, regional shows from Melbourne to Johannesburg, and which suit each buyer type.
Cover image: The Messeturm at the Messe Frankfurt exhibition grounds, home of IMEX Frankfurt (file photo) — photo by S. Kasten, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
This page tracks 9 MICE and meetings-industry trade shows worldwide, 8 of them checked against the organisers' own websites, with the tables updated weekly. Around the tables we explain how hosted-buyer programmes work, how the global and regional shows differ and which suit agency, corporate and association planners. Leisure and other trade shows are in our full travel trade shows calendar.
The short answer: suppliers chasing international meetings and incentive business start with IMEX Frankfurt, IMEX America and IBTM World. The regional shows each face one market. AIME reaches mainly Australian planners, IT&CM Asia and CTW Asia-Pacific in Bangkok mixes MICE and corporate travel buyers, Meetings Africa and FIEXPO sell Africa and Latin America to international buyers, MEETINGS sells New Zealand, and BLTM brings India's corporate and MICE buyers to suppliers.
Last updated: 1 November 2026. The tables below are rebuilt weekly from dates checked on organisers' own websites; shows drop off once they have taken place. For every show see our travel trade shows calendar.
Jump to: November 2026 · February 2027 · May 2027 · June 2027 · September 2027 · November 2027 · Dates not yet announced
Upcoming MICE and meetings industry events
November 2026
| Dates | Show | City | Type | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17–19 Nov 2026 | IBTM World 2026 | L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain | MICE | ✓ 25 Oct |
February 2027
| Dates | Show | City | Type | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15–17 Feb 2027 | AIME 2027 | Melbourne, Australia | MICE | ✓ 1 Nov |
| 22–24 Feb 2027 | Meetings Africa 2027 | Johannesburg, South Africa | MICE | ✓ 25 Oct |
May 2027
| Dates | Show | City | Type | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11–13 May 2027 | IMEX Frankfurt 2027 | Frankfurt, Germany | MICE | ✓ 25 Oct |
June 2027
| Dates | Show | City | Type | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7–10 Jun 2027 | FIEXPO Latin America 2027 | San José, Costa Rica | MICE | ✓ 25 Oct |
| 29–30 Jun 2027 | MEETINGS 2027 (30th) | Auckland, New Zealand | MICE |
September 2027
| Dates | Show | City | Type | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–3 Sep 2027 | BLTM 2027 | New Delhi, India | MICE | ✓ 25 Oct |
| 14–16 Sep 2027 | IT&CM Asia and CTW Asia-Pacific 2027 | Bangkok, Thailand | MICE | ✓ 25 Oct |
| 28–30 Sep 2027 | IMEX America 2027 | Las Vegas, United States | MICE | ✓ 25 Oct |
November 2027
| Dates | Show | City | Type | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16–18 Nov 2027 | IBTM World 2027 | Barcelona, Spain | MICE | ✓ 25 Oct |
What makes a MICE show different
A leisure travel trade show sells product that agents and tour operators resell to holidaymakers. A MICE show (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) sells destinations, venues and services to the people who place group business: congresses, incentive trips, sales conferences and launches. Three features set these shows apart.
Vetted hosted buyers. Organisers screen planners and pay for part or all of their trip. IMEX asks hosted buyers to research, organise, influence or sign off budgets for events outside their home country, with three confirmed or planned events in the next three years. IBTM World may ask for two booking references from meetings suppliers and charges a non-refundable €100 plus VAT registration fee. IT&CM Asia wants at least three supplier references from MICE buyers, and AIME requires two years' experience and turns away tour operators and travel agents who book only the travel part of an event.
Pre-scheduled appointments. Hosted buyers pay for the trip in meetings. In the latest published terms, IMEX hosted buyers book six to eight a day, IBTM World's attend at least 30 and can be charged €100 for each missed appointment they do not reschedule, and AIME's fully hosted buyers commit to 30 matched meetings, with flights reimbursed only once all are done.
Education built in. Several shows open with a learning day: the Monday education day at both IMEX shows, Knowledge Monday at AIME and BONDay at Meetings Africa.
The global circuit: IMEX Frankfurt, IMEX America and IBTM World
Three shows run by two organisers form the global MICE circuit. IMEX Group holds IMEX Frankfurt at Messe Frankfurt in May and IMEX America at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in the autumn; RX holds IBTM World in Barcelona in November. None has public days.
The clearest difference is where the buyers come from. By IMEX's 2026 counts, IMEX America drew 6,292 buyers, 73% of them from the United States, while IMEX Frankfurt drew 4,739 from 94 countries, with Germany supplying 23%, the United States 11% and the United Kingdom 9%. RX reported that 49% of hosted buyers at IBTM World 2025 came from outside Europe. A supplier targeting North American planners gets most from Las Vegas; one chasing European and long-haul buyers looks to Frankfurt or Barcelona.
Access differs too. Both IMEX shows are free to attend with registration, and about 300 IMEX exhibitors act as intermediaries, inviting their clients into hosted-buyer groups. Corporate planners bound by compliance rules can pay their own travel and hotel and keep the other hosted-buyer benefits. IBTM World charges €100 plus VAT for a trade-visitor pass and €199 plus VAT for a Flexi Buyer pass, which opens the meetings platform with no minimum but includes no travel or hotel: a route for planners who miss the hosted-buyer deadlines.
Regional MICE shows: which side of the table
AIME in Melbourne, owned by the Melbourne Convention Bureau and managed by Talk2 Media & Events, drew exhibitors from 36 countries and territories in 2026, but 64% of its hosted buyers were from Australia and 23% from Asia, by the organiser's count. International applicants need events held or planned in Australia or Asia-Pacific. MEETINGS in Auckland, run by Business Events Industry Aotearoa (BEIA), which calls it "the only national tradeshow in New Zealand for the Business Events industry", sells New Zealand: its exhibitors are the country's bureaux, venues, hotels and event companies. Archived copies of BEIA's pages show a hosted-buyer programme open to event organisers in New Zealand and Australia, and free day-buyer registration for any event organiser.
IT&CM Asia and CTW Asia-Pacific, run by TTG Events in Bangkok, pairs a MICE marketplace with a corporate travel show; its 2026 edition brought 361 buyers from 50 countries and territories to 600 exhibitors, by the organiser's count. Meetings Africa, owned by South African Tourism, puts business-events product from more than 20 African countries in front of international buyers in Johannesburg. International hosted buyers, invited by the South Africa National Convention Bureau and vetted externally, get sponsored flights, accommodation and a pre- or post-show tour.
BLTM in New Delhi, run by Fairfest Media, works the other way: Indian and overseas destinations, hotels and MICE suppliers exhibit to corporate travel planners, MICE professionals and destination-wedding planners. Fairfest says its hosted buyers come from major Indian cities, Southeast Asia, the GCC and Russia. FIEXPO Latin America connects the region's destinations and suppliers with buyers from around the world. Its host rotates every three years, according to the organiser, among cities that have included Montevideo, Punta del Este, Lima, Santiago, Cartagena and Panama, and is currently Costa Rica. Its hosted buyers travel and stay free.
The year has a rhythm. AIME and Meetings Africa fall in February, MEETINGS and FIEXPO in June, and September is crowded: in the next cycle BLTM, IT&CM Asia and IMEX America all fall in that month. Every date is in the tables above and in our travel trade shows calendar.
Choosing by buyer type: agency, corporate or association
Agencies and incentive houses make up most buyer pools: 68% of IMEX Frankfurt's 2026 buyers and 58% of IMEX America's, while 72% of IT&CM Asia's were MICE buyers such as planners, incentive houses and professional conference organisers. Both IMEX shows include a SITE NITE evening, and FIEXPO a SITE Iberoamérica Meet; SITE is the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence.
Corporate planners are a bigger share in Las Vegas: 25% of IMEX America's buyers against 16% at IMEX Frankfurt. In 2026 both IMEX shows ran corporate strands on their education day (Exclusively Corporate in Frankfurt; Corporate Focus and the Executive Meeting Forum in Las Vegas), and IBTM World runs the Exceptional Experiences Workshop for in-house event leaders and brand marketers. Corporate travel managers have CTW Asia-Pacific in Bangkok, whose 2026 conference was powered by the Global Business Travel Association, and BLTM counted more than 150 corporate buyers in 2026.
Association planners are about one buyer in ten at both IMEX shows and 12% at IT&CM Asia, but several shows court them directly. Both IMEX shows ran Association Focus on the 2026 education day (in Las Vegas, created by ASAE), and IBTM World has an Association Leaders Forum and an invitation-only Forum for Advocacy. Meetings Africa runs a separate association hosted-buyer programme with an Association Day, and FIEXPO, which describes itself as ICCA's only Industry Partner on the continent, selects association executives with ICCA and runs an international associations forum. At AIME, membership organisations made up 19% of 2026 buyers, close behind event management companies on 20%.
Frequently asked questions
Which MICE and meetings industry events are coming up?
The next MICE and meetings industry events in our calendar are IBTM World 2026 (17–19 Nov 2026, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat); AIME 2027 (15–17 Feb 2027, Melbourne); Meetings Africa 2027 (22–24 Feb 2027, Johannesburg); IMEX Frankfurt 2027 (11–13 May 2027, Frankfurt); FIEXPO Latin America 2027 (7–10 Jun 2027, San José). Dates were checked on each organiser's website and the list is updated weekly; the tables above have the full schedule.
What are the main MICE trade shows?
The global circuit is IMEX Frankfurt in May, IMEX America in Las Vegas in the autumn and IBTM World in Barcelona in November. Regional shows each serve one market: AIME in Melbourne and MEETINGS in Auckland for Australia and New Zealand, IT&CM Asia and CTW Asia-Pacific in Bangkok, Meetings Africa in Johannesburg, BLTM in New Delhi, and FIEXPO Latin America, whose host rotates every three years.
What is a hosted buyer at a MICE show?
A hosted buyer is a vetted meetings or incentive planner whose travel or hotel the organiser pays for, wholly or partly, in return for a set number of pre-scheduled appointments with exhibitors. In the latest published terms, IMEX hosted buyers book six to eight meetings a day, IBTM World's attend at least 30, and AIME's fully hosted buyers commit to 30 matched meetings before their flights are reimbursed.
Are MICE trade shows free to attend?
Some are. IMEX Frankfurt and IMEX America are free for registered industry professionals, AIME is free for approved buyers and MEETINGS offered free day-buyer registration to event organisers in 2026. Others charge: at the latest published rates, an IBTM World trade-visitor pass cost €100 plus VAT and IT&CM Asia's three-day badge USD 150 or 180. AIME charges suppliers who do not exhibit for a Visitor Supplier Pass.
What is the difference between IMEX and IBTM?
IMEX Group runs two shows, IMEX Frankfurt in May and IMEX America in Las Vegas, and both are free to attend. IBTM World is RX's show in Barcelona in November, with paid trade-visitor and Flexi Buyer passes and a hosted-buyer programme that charges a €100 plus VAT registration fee. Most of IMEX America's 2026 buyers were from the United States, while about half of IBTM World's 2025 hosted buyers came from outside Europe.
Can travel agents attend MICE trade shows as buyers?
It depends on the show and the business. AIME turns away tour operators and travel agents who book only the travel part of an event, and IMEX wants hosted buyers who organise or decide on events outside their home country. IT&CM Asia lists travel agents handling incentives among its buyer profiles, IBTM World accepts incentive houses whose clients choose international destinations, and BLTM admits travel agents and tour operators as trade buyers.
Sources
- IMEX Frankfurt: hosted buyer programme (criteria, six to eight meetings a day, intermediaries, compliance option)
- IMEX Frankfurt 2026 show statistics (PDF: buyers by country and business type)
- IMEX America 2026 show statistics (PDF: buyers by country and business type)
- IBTM World: hosted buyer FAQs (references, 30 appointments, application fee, incentive houses)
- AIME: hosted buyer programme (eligibility, exclusions, 30 matched meetings)
- BEIA: MEETINGS national tradeshow (archived 19 Jun 2026; live site blocks automated access)
- BEIA: options to attend MEETINGS, hosted and day buyers (archived 14 May 2026)
- FIEXPO Latin America: about the organiser (founding, rotating host cities, academic programme; Spanish)
- FIEXPO Latin America: exhibitors (ICCA Industry Partner, buyer selection; Spanish)
- FIEXPO Latin America: hosted buyers (flights and accommodation, meeting scheduling; Spanish)
