The NAR U.S. Pavilion brings together a multitude of REALTOR® association partners at MIPIM 2016.

The Illinois® Association of REALTORS® booth at the MIPIM conference in Cannes, France, is one of many contained in the U.S. Pavilion.

The U.S. Pavilion includes REALTOR® partners from a diverse array of markets.

That’s because the National Association of REALTORS® came up with the idea several years ago to get partner associations involved under a common banner. The effort gives REALTORS® a chance to build their businesses and establish the brand with audiences that might not be familiar with the nation’s real estate industry.

The booths this year include Miami, Scottsdale, Ariz., Missouri and Las Vegas. The pavilion includes several seating areas and a presentation area for partners to provide market updates to visitors.

MIPIM, which is billed as one of the largest real estate shows in the world, has not typically had a strong U.S. presence. That’s changing, in large part due to the work of NAR and associations such as IAR which see the value of forging a global presence.

Illinois’ booth at MIPIM is located next to our neighbors in Missouri.

More than one attendee has commented that they were surprised to see this growing U.S. presence. The U.S. pavilion takes up an increasingly larger chunk of real estate in the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, a massive convention complex with exhibit spaces that spill over into the surrounding area.

IAR is committed for at least one more year to take part in MIPIM, and already the planning has begun for 2017.