I attended the annual IMEX America show in Las Vegas in October with Kim Krol, vice president and managing editor, Global Traveler. What a whirlwind of a week that was! As it was my first time attending, I was blown away by the magnitude of IMEX. We stayed at the SLS Las Vegas, located slightly off the strip, and had a nice stay. As it was Columbus Day, GT had off that Monday, which also happened to be my birthday. Kim and I had a relaxing spa treatment at Spa at The LINQ, including their signature glacier mud wrap and a session in the only salt cave in Las Vegas. It was a very detoxing experience, perfect preparation for the long week ahead of us! Dinner at D.O.C.G. at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas was delicious and a perfect birthday dinner. The following day was the first day of IMEX at the Sands Convention Center. Both Kim and I had never been to IMEX and did not know what was in store for us. We visited nearly every booth and felt we did a tour around the globe! Almost every country, major destination and city had a booth at the conference, each different in their presentation and offerings. We enjoyed the booths that were interactive and had activities to partake in. The Spain tourism booth was one of our favorites; we got to take a last-minute trip to Pamplona to run with the bulls and taste some Spanish wines and cheeses. Las Vegas offers some of the best restaurants in the country, and almost every major chef has a restaurant in the city. The rest of the week we dined at China Poblano, offering Chinese and Mexican fusion fare at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, and Cleo, serving Mediterranean cuisine at SLS Las Vegas. Both were equally impressive and a foodie adventure to say the least! IMEX felt like professional speed dating, as I like to call it, but it was so wonderful to meet GT clients and  new potential partners. It was extremely fruitful for business, and I think we should all go again next year! — Rafie Iannello, account director, Pacific Rim