The NACS Show has broken its attendance and expo records once again. Held Oct. 7-10 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the annual four-day event for the U.S. convenience store industry attracted 25,159 industry stakeholders from 72 countries, topping 25,000 for the first time ever and beating last year’s attendance record of 24,940.

Steady growth is the meetings and event industry’s “new normal” according to the American Express Meetings & Events (M&E)2019 Global Meetings and Events Forecast, released on Oct.

The trade show mergers and acquisitions market shows no sign of slowing down any time soon, with two more buys recently taking place; Emerald Expositions bought ST Media Group International and Hospitality Media Group’s portfolio of shows that includes BDNY (Boutique Design New York) and Access Intelligence scooped up P3C Media’s event portfolio.

Today is opening day for IMEX America 2018, the country’s worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events. Held annually at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, IMEX America runs Oct. 16-18.

Vision Expo West celebrated its 30^thanniversary by achieving a nearly double-digit increase in attendance compared to the year before. 

The 16th edition of Tarsus Group’s biennial trade show, Labelexpo Americas, was the largest in its history.

A total of 487 exhibitors were spread across the biggest floorspace yet, at 203,642 square feet, with almost 30 percent of exhibitors new to this year’s show.

Plans are in the works to update, modernize and expand the America’s Center Convention Complex in St. Louis. Dubbed the “AC Next Gen Project,” the goal of the $175 million project is to secure the facility’s place as an economic and employment driver for the entire region. 

More than two million pets and other live animals are transported by air every year in the U.S. While the U.S. Department of Transportation offers guidelines, each airline establishes its own company policy for the proper handling of the animals they transport.

Some of the construction in downtown San Francisco will be ending soon, with a positive impact for event planners and attendees. The $551 million Moscone Center expansion project is due to be completed at the end of 2018.

TSNN is thrilled to announce that the 10^th Annual 2019 TSNN Awards: Celebrating Trade Show Excellence will head Nov. 15-17 to Dallas to celebrate the top U.S. fastest-growing trade shows in net square footage and attendance (www.T-awards.com)