The meetings and events industry is reporting rising confidence and rising costs, according to American Express Global Business Travel's 2026 Global Meetings and Events Forecast, based on a YouGov-conducted survey of 601 meeting professionals across eight countries.
The survey, conducted between July 14-21, showed 85 percent of respondents said they were optimistic about the meetings and events sector for 2026, which was an improvement of 11 percentage points from last year's survey, according to Amex GBT. That improved optimism stems from both stabilization in the meetings sector as well as the availability of new AI tools that can help meeting planners achieve savings, the report indicated.
About half of respondents said they are integrating AI technology in the planning and execution of meetings. The most frequently cited use cases expected for 2026 are event communications and matchmaking for attendees and sponsors, each cited by 35 percent of respondents, and creating creative themes for events, cited by 34 percent of respondents.
More than 70 percent of respondents said they expect meetings costs will be up in 2026. The largest percentage, 38 percent, said cost per attendee would be up slightly year over year, and 27 percent expect a moderate increase. Only 6 percent expect increases of 11 percent or more in cost per attendee. Twenty-one percent of respondents expect costs to stay the same in 2026, and 9 percent expect a decrease year over year.
On a regional basis, meeting professionals in North America and Europe were the most optimistic about the industry, with 93 percent and 91 percent of respondents from the respective regions reporting optimism in the survey. In Latin America, 79 percent of respondents were optimistic about the industry in 2026, and 74 percent of respondents from the Asia/Pacific region said the same.