The PCA Trade Show is moving to the spring. Today the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) announced its 2024 Annual Convention and Trade Show will be held March 22-25, 2024 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This marks a change from the traditional summertime trade show to earlier in the year. The PCA says it is currently negotiating contracts for the 2025 Annual Convention and Trade Show for an early spring date in a new location and expects to be able to announce that in the next several weeks.

The PCA has held the Trade Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center before, most recently in 2018.

“From pretty much my first day on the job, I have heard from numerous members that moving the trade show earlier in the year would be better for the annual business cycle,” said PCA Executive Director Scott Pearce in a press release. “Over the past couple of years we have sent out several surveys inquiring about time of year and location and we held a town-hall style meeting with the membership at last year’s trade show to elicit feedback from our members. Our board has listened and put in some good work to respond to the voice of our membership,” Pearce said.

“With the move to March, the board really feels that this an optimal time for the industry as retailers will be able to place orders before the busy season hits and get the new and exclusive products on their shelves when demand is the highest,” added Greg Zimmerman, president of the PCA Board. “Plus, we anticipate that many retailers who are not able to attend in summer when business is at its peak, will be able to attend our industry’s largest event,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman also recognized and thanked the Tobacconists Association of America (TAA) for their support as the new PCA trade show dates conflict with the traditional dates of the TAA meeting. “I know the new dates have presented a big challenge for TAA as March is typically when they hold their meeting. Throughout this process they have been incredibly understanding and supportive and I would like to sincerely thank their board for the hard work they have put in to adjust their plans to make the PCA date change a reality,” Zimmerman said.

Mike Conder, the associate board reprepesntative on the PCA Executive Committee, said the earlier dates make a lot of sense and anticipates it will yield good results for all who participate. “As an exhibitor, I do think having the show earlier will enhance our potential for product turns during the prime selling months for much of the country. Additionally, having the opportunity to meet with our retail partners earlier in the annual sales cycle to plan our events and other promotional activities will give everyone a better chance to maximize activity right through the year,” said Conder.

Chair of the PCA trade show committee and Vice President of the Board, Scott Regina, commented on the importance of PCA continuously looking for ways to evolve the trade show to meet the changing needs of the industry. “As a board, we seriously consider all aspects of the trade show as a way to benefit our members. We made sure to get a lot of feedback via surveys, meetings, and conversations to ensure that we were making good, informed decisions. I think that not only moving the dates of the show, but with many of the new initiatives that we’ve been adding to the show to enable more networking, exclusive products, and better educational seminars, the impact of the show will continue to grow,” Regina said.