Why Is Orlando a Major Trade Show Destination?
Orlando's trade show market centers almost entirely on one complex: the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC), the second-largest convention facility in the United States. The OCCC offers 2,053,820 sq ft of exhibit space, split between the West Building (1,103,538 sq ft) and the North/South Building (950,282 sq ft), inside a 7-million-sq-ft total campus (Source: Orange County Convention Center, "Convention Center Facts," occc.net, 2026).
The venue runs 74 meeting rooms, 232 breakout rooms, 174 loading dock slips, and 6,227 on-site parking spaces, with more than 23,000 total parking spaces available on-site and off-site across the wider Convention Center District (Source: OCCC, "Convention Center Facts" and "Getting Here," occc.net, 2026). A $560 million Grand Concourse Expansion broke ground in 2026 and is scheduled to finish in 2029, adding a 100,000-sq-ft ballroom and 44,000 sq ft of meeting space to the North-South Building (Source: OCCC press release, March 27, 2025, occc.net).
Recurring OCCC events span several industries: the PGA Show (golf, held annually in January), KBIS (kitchen and bath, February 17–19, 2026), MegaCon (pop culture and fan convention, spring), and IAAPA Expo (attractions industry, November 16–20, 2026, expanding into the West Building for the first time) (Sources: PGA Show, KBIS 2026 event listings; MegaCon, Wikipedia; IAAPA Expo, iaapa.org, 2026).
Booth height limits, electrical service rules, rigging approval, and fire-watch requirements are not fixed OCCC-wide standards. They change by show and appear in that event's exhibitor manual, so confirm specifics with your show organizer before finalizing a booth design.