Fort Lauderdale ready to host IPW 2026, invites Canadian partners to attend

Visit Lauderdale’s Tracy Vaughan and Paul Mason, along with the U.S. Travel Association’s Aimee Gabel welcomed a key group of industry VIPs to an intimate gathering in North Toronto this week and offered them a personal invitation to attend IPW 2026 – set to take place in Fort Lauderdale for the first time ever this year.

Vaughan, Visit Lauderdale’s Senior Vice President Global Trade Development, told the gathering of top travel advisors and tour operators that “it was really important for us to come [to Canada] and to invite you [personally]” to attend IPW 2026.

She said that when Fort Lauderdale bid for IPW three years ago it was going through a renaissance with a new convention centre and a host of other projects.

“Canada is our number one market, and we want you to come and see [all the changes], she said, adding: “We’re a different destination from what you’ve experienced before at IPW.”

For his part, Mason, Visit Lauderdale’s Senior Manager Global Trade Development, took the group on a trip to “Discover the Uncharted Wonders” of the destination and help them understand that Fort Lauderdale welcomes “Everyone Under The Sun.”

He turned the spotlight on the destination’s new convention centre, its cruise ship port (the third largest in the world), the fact that two-thirds of the county is in the Everglades, its 4,000 eateries, 38,000 plus unique lodging accommodations, its remarkable beaches (Ft. Lauderdale Beach, Hollywood Beach and Deerfield Beach) and a whole lot more.

And along the way, Mason made four key points reminding those attending that Greater Fort Lauderdale is all about watersports and water culture; it’s about diversity; it’s about accessibility; and it’s about fun in the sun.

He also reminded travel advisors about Lauderdale Loyalist which is a mobile learning and sales companion – basically and all-in-one platform – for travel advisors, allowing them to learn, promote and sell across devices anytime, anywhere.

Aimee Gabel, Senior Vice President Events & Education for the U.S. Travel Association, rounded out the evening, talking to those attending about how IPW is changing just as the travel industry is and how it will continue to change moving into the future and “we want to help you find that future.”

Gabel talked about the emphasis being placed on education that’s designed to “help us all get smarter;” the introduction of a new Distribution Pavilion and a new Cruise Pavilion; and a whole lot more.

She told the gathering: “We want [IPW] to be more than just 42 appointments or five days,” and to that end, she continued: “We’re going to try to keep making IPW better.”

IPW 2026 takes place in Fort Lauderdale from May 17 to May 21, 2026.

Go to www.VisitLauderdale.com

In the Photo

From l to r, are Aimee Gabel, Paul Mason and Tracy Vaughan