Wild Card Americas

What is Wild Card Americas?

Wild Card Americas is a unique opportunity for new and emerging destinations, convention centers or innovative meeting experience products who wish to raise their profile in the meetings and incentive travel industry. The program offers these destinations, or new convention/ conference centers in such destinations and meeting experience products, the chance to exhibit free of charge at IMEX America and meet the thousands of qualified buyers from around the US and the world who will be attending.

This is an unprecedented opportunity for such destinations to win real business, learn about the global meetings market and to hone their products or destination’s offering. At the same time, it is a chance to build important contacts and potential partnerships for the future.

2011 Winners

Honduras

Honduras is the second largest country in Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Northern Pacific Ocean. A vivid wonderland, full of adventure and breathtaking beauty. Here you will find hundreds of miles of coastline and vibrant eco-tourism attractions such as cloud forests and marine parks plus UNESCO World Heritage sites such as the Rio Plantano Biosphere Reserve. There are two convention centers located in the city of San Pedro Sula, the Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Cortés (CCIC) and the Centro Social Hondureño Arabe. With international airport access, several international hotels and many natural attractions, this is the perfect place to hold your next event.

www.iht.hn

Zero-G

It feels like flying – only better. One thing is for certain: this is not a simulation. It’s real. You’re weightless! As a ZERO-G passenger on their specially modified Boeing 727, G-FORCE ONE, you’ll experience true weightlessness for as much as 30 seconds at a time, and up to eight minutes during a complete mission. And the best part is that you can do it in an afternoon, without traveling to the moon – or even leaving our atmosphere. ZERO-G has welcomed top companies and organizations who have booked seat packages, sections or chartered G-FORCE ONE for corporate incentives; team building; motivational or corporate development programs and events for over six years. They offer a variety of options or can design a program uniquely created to suit your event's specific needs.

Buyers that made appointments with Zero-G at the show were entered into a prize draw to win a free flight on the G-FORCE ONE (worth $4950).

www.gozerog.com

How to qualify

Qualification criteria:

• Applications are open to any destination (country, region, city or town) or meeting experience product in the United States, Canada, Central or South America, providing it has never previously exhibited at a major meetings or incentive travel trade show or event.
• Entrants must either be:
   A brand new meetings and incentive travel destination, OR
   A new convention and conference center from such a destination. A new center is defined as those currently in development and due to open in the 12 months following IMEX America 2012 or which have been open for three years or less (from June 1 2012),OR

           A new meeting experience product.

• Entrants are not permitted to have exhibited at a major meetings or incentive travel trade show before.
• Entrants must demonstrate that they have the commitment and capacity to handle new business and that their destination or product has the infrastructure to support the demands of the meetings and incentive travel market.
• Applicants should have the support in writing of their respective government tourist/convention authority and display realistic potential in the business tourism, meetings or incentive travel sector.

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Benefits of winning a place

Each winning destination receives:

• Free exhibition space at IMEX America within the Wild Card Americas Pavilion, including full access to the IMEX appointments system
• One complimentary hotel room for three nights in Las Vegas
• One complimentary ticket to the IMEX Gala Party
• A comprehensive marketing and sales support program to assist in presenting their destination or center to the audience of international buyers at the show

  View an example of what can be achieved by a winning Wild Card destination

For further information please contact Dale Hudson dale.hudson@imexexhibitions.com.

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