IAAPA Expo thinking bigger at convention center

The IAAPA Expo plans to expand its footprint at Orange County Convention Center, a move that is said to reflect the health of the tourism industry and the boom of related segments.
The annual trade show will move in the convention center's West Concourse for the first time in 2026. Previously it has been only in the North and South concourses.
'The industry is growing. We see that with the projects like Epic Universe, but we also see it with all the smaller attractions, which happen everywhere now — if it's a Ripley's Mirror Maze or if it's a Puttshack or if it's a PopStroke — all those little attractions are actually contributing the success of the attraction industry,' said Jakob Wahl, president of the Orlando-based International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, a k a IAAPA.
The expo is known for its vast, teeming trade floor that includes vendors of all manner of manufacturers and creative types, ranging from water-slide equipment to major roller coasters to plush animals for carnival games to theme park announcements. The assortment of participants has been diversifying, Wahl said.
'We have seen more and more resorts coming, more and more cruise ships,' he said. 'We have seen an increased growth of food and beverage vendors, and we're working on an increased focus on technology vendors. There are many, many companies in that space.'
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The 2025 expo floor is sold out with more than 1,100 vendors, some of which will set up shop in the convention center parking lot. The event had more than 40,000 attendees last year.
IAAPA Expo, which also includes educational sessions and excursions to Central Florida attractions, introduced themed pavilions last year, including an area devoted to food and beverage companies and a Halloween-driven section.
'We want to expand and, at the same time, we want to use that expansion to further grow the show, to be more creative, to be more global and to be also more immersive,' Wahl said.
'This is where we will introduce some pavilions next year at the show to really cater to new industry, to new segments of our expo which might not have had the same presence as we thought in the past,' he said.
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This year's expo begins Nov. 17, but the expansion into the West Concourse is scheduled to kick in next year.
'Such an expansion, actually, is not that easy to execute,' Wahl said. 'We actually start working up to one and a half years in advance on the floor plan.'
IAAPA Expo has been an annual presence at the convention center since 2010. IAAPA moved its home base from Alexandria, Virginia, to Orlando in 2017 and later constructed its global headquarters on Taft-Vineland Road.
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