There will be a little bit of Texas in Florida in 2026

There will be a slice of San Antonio in Broward County, Florida in 2026, when the coastal metropolis of Greater Fort Lauderdale hosts the 57th edition of the IPW international trade market and conference.

Greater Fort Lauderdale is in the midst of preparations to welcome the thousands of attendees who will come to the annual gathering, which organizes meetings between suppliers of U.S.-based tourism products and tourism product buyers from around the world.

In the course of those preparations, the tourism organization Visit Lauderdale has been taking a few lessons from the San Antonio playbook. The Texas city welcomed IPW in 2023, and has a more compact downtown core than a typical IPW host city, even though its total population is over 1.4 million.

The task of housing, transporting and providing convention facilities for up to 6,000 delegates is typically awarded to bigger cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Denver, or ones that have extensive conference/visitor infrastructures, such as Orlando, Anaheim and Las Vegas. 

San Antonio scored a home-run when it hosted the IPW ’23, managing to entertain, feed and house the many delegates in a relatively intimate downtown region without feeling crowded. It was an impressive feat that Broward County – whose 31 municipalities define Greater Fort Lauderdale – aim to emulate. Fort Lauderdale itself – one of the 31 communities – has a population of 183,000.

“San Antonio showed us and the world that non-conventional destinations can and do put on amazing shows,” said Stacy Ritter, the president and CEO of Visit Lauderdale.

“We think San Antonio raised the bar and did an excellent job of showcasing their diverse and beautiful city,” said Tracy Vaughan, the SVP of global trade development for Visit Lauderdale.

Some 5,000-plus came to San Antonio for the IPW, marking a rebound to pre-pandemic attendance numbers for the first time, and the confident return of international travel and tourism in general. Some key markets, including Mexico and Canada, had record participation of product buyers.

This year, the IPW 2024 in Los Angeles drew approximately 5,700 attendees from nearly 70 countries. Those numbers indicated a 15% increase in buyers and a 16% increase in media over the San Antonio IPW in 2023. Chicago is on deck as the host of the 2025 IPW, and will no doubt seek to equal or exceed the stats posted by the L.A. event.

The 56th IPW will be held in Chicago June 14-18, 2025. Greater Fort Lauderdale will be up after that – May 17-21, 2026 – and they will be ready, say the planners.

An exceptional experience

“Visit Lauderdale will provide an exceptional experience to IPW attendees, from an opening reception on our beautiful beach to a convention centre on the Intercoastal Waterway,” says Ritter. “This destination will roll out the red carpet in our own special warm and welcoming way.”

Now in the midst of preparations are, for starters, a host of Lauderdale hotels. There are currently 33 total hotels in the Broward County pipeline through December 2026, offering 4,600 rooms, says Vaughan.

When the newly expanded Broward County Convention Center opens late in 2025, it will feature a connection to the new Omni Fort Lauderdale Hotel. With 29 stories, the hotel will offer 801 rooms, expansive meeting space, six dining venues, an outdoor pool deck and spa.

The Whitfield Las Olas Hotel & Spa is also expected to open in winter 2025 and will be an ultra-luxury five-star property in downtown Fort Lauderdale, featuring 138 rooms on the iconic Las Olas boulevard. The Wilton Hotel & Pool Club is a 123-room full service boutique hotel that is now in the planning stages.

The first phase of the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center expansion opened in the fall of 2021. The newly updated 800,000 sq. ft. center features an expanded 350,000 sq. ft. exhibit hall.

Work on the remainder of the US$1.3 billion expansion continues, including an east side expansion with waterfront ballrooms, meeting rooms and kitchen facilities, a six-acre outdoor waterfront plaza, and the previously mentioned Omni Fort Lauderdale Hotel. Full completion in late 2025 will bring the center’s total size to 1.2 million sq. ft. 

A brilliant backdrop

“IPW 2026 attendees will get a front row seat to Greater Fort Lauderdale’s explosive growth and experience how it’s not only transformed our destination, but made us one of tourism’s most dynamic contenders,” says Vaughan. She noted that the destination will provide “a brilliant backdrop” for IPW delegates, with its 38 km of golden sand beaches and 3,000 hours of annual sunshine.

“We meet the requirements to host a successful IPW, but in a new way,” she continues. “We have some challenges, but all cities do. We consider these challenges to be opportunities to think differently and present new and innovative ways of hosting buyers while showcasing U.S. destinations and products.” For example, conversations are now under way to possibly utilize cruise ships for IPW functions, given that the Port Everglades cruise ship terminal is near to the convention centre. 

“Attendees will quickly discover our focus on diversity, accessibility and the great outdoors,” says Vaughan. “At Visit Lauderdale, our doors are open to all, and we are proud to be a beacon of inclusivity and acceptance, as we welcome everyone under the sun,” adds Stacy Ritter.

Diversity at the destination

That promise of diversity has helped make Greater Fort Lauderdale a very popular destination for the LGBT+ population of travellers. It welcomes more than three million LGBT+ visitors every year, who spend over US$1.3 billion in the area. It is recognized as Florida’s LGBT+ capital.

But this status has the potential to be a point of contention between the tourism interests in Greater Fort Lauderdale and the tourism authorities representing the state at Visit Florida. This simmering conflict has been reignited by a recent decision by Visit Florida to delete mention of LGBT+ travel/attractions in the state’s tourism promotional materials.

The response by Visit Lauderdale was to state that: “we will continue to celebrate and support our vibrant LGBT+ community and allies through dedicated programs, events and resources that ensure every visitor feels seen, respected and welcomed.” And, adds Ritter regarding the Visit Florida position: “It’s absurd, short sighted, cruel and ultimately a dumb business move.”

Florida flight start-ups and increases from Canada

Air Canada

• Montreal (YUL) to Miami (MIA) route increases to three daily flights from two.
• Ottawa (YOW) to Tampa (TPA) route increases to two weekly flights from one.
• Ottawa (YOW) to Orlando (MCO) route increases to four weekly flights from two.
• Ottawa (YOW) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) increases to six weekly flights from four.
• Halifax (YHZ) to Tampa (TPA) route increases to three weekly flights from two

WestJet

• New by WestJet to Florida is a once-per-week flight between Winnipeg (YWG) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL). This is in addition to the Winnipeg-Orlando route that will operate three times per week.

Porter Airlines

• Seasonal service between Toronto (YYZ) and Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) starts Nov. 14, with one daily roundtrip flight.  
• New service from Montreal-Trudeau Airport (YUL) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Fort Myers (RSY) starts this winter.
• New service from Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ) to Orlando (MCO) and Tampa (TPA) starts this winter.
• New seasonal service starts in November from Ottawa (YOW) to Fort Myers (RSY) and Tampa (TPA), each with up to four weekly flights.