Promo veterans – the ones who really know their way around a trade show – are all prepared to give you a couple tips about how to make it out of The PPAI Expo 2026 without feeling too fatigued. Advice like wear comfortable shoes or drink plenty of water and take moments to breathe fresh air or set up your meetings before you board the plane or map out the trade floor beforehand, so you don’t waste time and steps.
These are just the sort of precautions that become necessary when you’re talking about four or five nights in Las Vegas that can account for some of the most fruitful and productive (and fun! and educational!) days of the year for the branded merchandise community. It can also be a bit exhausting by the time it’s all said and done.
And all that advice is usually coming from and directed at attendees living within the United States, or at least North America, traveling maybe a couple hours to The PPAI Expo. Imagine traveling upwards of 20 hours with numerous flights across a couple of time zones to make it to Las Vegas. You might wonder if it’s even worth the trip at that point. According to many international firms that make the trek each year, it still is worth the planning, mileage and likely jet lag to get to Vegas for the industry’s biggest trade show.
“It’s worth it regardless of the travel as the venue is unique: Las Vegas is an awesome place to visit and experience,” says Florence Mosnier, general manager of IPPAG, a global cooperative of branded merchandise companies. Mosnier has made the trip many times in the past from her home base in Basel, Switzerland, and IPPAG will have a number of companies represented at The PPAI Expo 2026.
“The PPAI show itself is jam-packed with things to see and in my case, many people to meet,” Mosnier continues. “It gives us a really broad perspective. And it’s of much bigger scale than similar events in Europe.”
Florence Mosnier (via Switzerland)
General Manager, IPPAG
Travel Itineraries And Battling Jet Lag
For Gaurav Bhagat, the managing director of Consortium Gifts, PPAI 100’s No. 91 distributor, The PPAI Expo requires a trip around the globe that starts in Delhi, India. In order to take advantage of his time in the U.S., Bhagat will usually meet with some clients in San Francisco or Seattle and include a New York stop in his itinerary. For The PPAI Expo 2026, his round-trip itinerary will take 10 days and includes the following legs, all purposed around coming to Las Vegas:
- Delhi –> Frankfurt
- Frankfurt –> New York
- New York –> Las Vegas
- Las Vegas –> San Francisco
- San Francisco –> New York
- New York –> Frankfurt
- Frankfurt –> New Delhi
From such an incredible distance (nearly 8,000 miles from Delhi to Las Vegas), Bhagat will typically break up the trip with a day in Europe and New York before The PPAI Expo kicks off. After all, Las Vegas, and an event like this one, is not an event you may want to arrive at after 21 hours of continuous travel.
“Hitting Vegas straight is brutal as the city never sleeps, and I end up getting roped into dinners, meetings and the occasional poker game and getting very little sleep,” Bhagat says.
Gaurav Bhagat
Managing Director, Consortium Gifts
Breaking up the trip to Las Vegas is less of a concern for Caroline Bourke, chief operating officer of ASA Brands, who is making the trip from Ireland, which is not quite as distant of a global trek as India, though it still requires hopping through a couple time zones. Bourke typically leaves the Sunday morning before The PPAI Expo kicks off and spends the entire day traveling.
“This year I am hoping will be a bit easier since I’m flying direct with Aer Lingus, which is a total game changer,” Bourke says. “In the past, it’s taken at least two connections to get there. I’ll leave on Saturday and head back home Thursday night, arriving in Ireland on Friday — tired but happy.”
- Bourke’s tip for international Expo attendees: She always sets her watch to the time of the final destination the moment she steps on the plane and tries to sleep and eat on that schedule as quickly as possible. The event doesn’t adjust for your internal clock.
Colin Loughran, global chief revenue officer at Imprint Engine, PPAI 100’s No. 28 distributor, will also be coming from Ireland, though he arrives in Las Vegas on Saturday, and perhaps like some other international attendees, he will be coming off the heels of another big global trade show.
“The challenge is that it comes immediately after PSI in Germany, which runs from Tuesday to Friday, so it’s a quick turnaround – no rest for the wicked,” says Loughran, who says he arrives in Las Vegas specifically to recover from jet lag and international travel.
Andre Noordwijk, co-founder and managing partner of BeGlobal Promotions, PPAI 100’s No. 77 distributor, and his fellow co-founder, Marco Horneman, fly into Las Vegas from Amsterdam on Saturday. Both members of the IPPAG Cooperative, they usually try to meet for dinners with fellow members or whoever they can connect with before the week officially starts. Jet lag plays a factor, but they try to ride the wave of the event’s momentum.
“We do face a nine-hour time difference with Amsterdam,” Noordwijk says. “This makes the trip a bit more difficult sometimes. But then again, we see a lot more people in Vegas that have less sleep than they usually have.”
Why The PPAI Expo Is Worth A Trip Across An Ocean
At the end of the day, one specific thing will rarely drag busy people thousands of miles from home (not to mention too many time zones to keep track of). Most international attendees say that The PPAI Expo provides tangible benefits along with organic opportunities. You know what you are getting from PPAI in terms of content and the trade floor at the Mandalay Bay, and then what you make of having the promo world in one place is up to you.
“The networking, the exchange of knowledge, the after parties; it’s always a 10/10 experience,” says Bhagat. “It’s 100% worth the commitment. The speaker sessions, the meetings with all our key accounts and owners of some of the largest distributors in the world is priceless.
“It’s also good to spend some time in walking the show and taking a look at trends in decoration and new products. The three aisles with trending products at the end of the hall is always something to look forward to.”
Bourke calls The PPAI Expo a “highlight of the year,” and says that it’s fairly essential from a logistical standpoint.
“At ASA Brands, we work closely with several US distributors, supporting their EMEA orders — so when their clients have offices across Europe, the Middle East or Africa, we handle that side of things for them,” Bourke says. “It saves time and money and keeps branding consistent across regions. Being at The PPAI Expo gives me the chance to meet our U.S. partners in person, discuss upcoming projects and spot new trends in the U.S. market. It’s also great for comparing what’s hot in the States versus Europe — they can be very different.”
Caroline Bourke
Chief Operating Officer, ASA Brands
The Association works hard to make The PPAI Expo a resource and a celebration of its own community. Coming from Ireland, Bourke points out that plenty of trade shows in Europe serve a practical business purpose, but The PPAI Expo is an event that rewards its attendees for the trip.
“I love the energy of the show – there’s nothing like it,” Bourke says. “It’s so much bigger and livelier than the European expos. The Expo Party is always a brilliant night too – great fun, great people and a lovely way to wrap up a busy few days.”
Loughran is based in Ireland, but he is something of a global jetsetter, working to connect people and global brands across the promo market. He spends a lot of time on airplanes (and some time on motorcycles), so he’s a good judge of a promo event.
“Last year I visited more international trade shows than anyone I know – across Germany, France, Hong Kong, the UK, Scandinavia, and the U.S,” Loughran says. “Yet The PPAI Expo always stands out. The scale, the professionalism and the energy are second to none.
Colin Loughran
Global CRO, Imprint Engine
“My goals for each show vary, but at The PPAI Expo, I focus on reconnecting with U.S. partners, spotting emerging trends, and deepening transatlantic relationships that help bridge the North American and European markets.”
Noordwijk says that for he and Horneman, there’s a big picture perspective to the decision flying in for The PPAI Expo.
“The PPAI Expo is the largest global gathering in our industry, so there are so many things to learn while we are there even if not all products are directly available for the European market,” Noordwijk says. “We can also be good partners for U.S. companies that want to know more about our market.”
Andre Noordwijk
Co-founder & Managing Partner, BeGlobal Promotions
Most domestic attendees will tell you the packed education sessions Monday during the PPAI Expo Conference are tremendous resources for promo professionals, but international attendees can see it as a crash course on U.S. trends in the market.
“I really enjoy the education day and all activities around this. I love the enthusiasm of the speakers and people in the room. We always take three or four lessons out of this day. Honestly, I think that PPAI is doing an excellent job with this.”
Register Now
Don’t wait any longer – register and book your trip to The PPAI Expo 2026 right now.
PPAI member distributors may have their registration fees waived based on their membership tier. It’s $50 per person for additional registrants.
Qualified nonmember distributors may access the exhibits and conference for $350 per person. Members of industry regional associations but not PPAI can receive a code from their executive director for a discounted rate.
Suppliers and business services providers who are members but not exhibiting will be charged $750 per person for access to the exhibit hall but may attend The PPAI Expo Conference for no additional cost.
Nonmember, nonexhibiting suppliers/business services providers are not permitted to attend The PPAI Expo.
