The meetings and events industry is projected to flourish in 2025, according to a report by American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT).
The TMC’s annual Global Meetings and Events forecast, which surveyed more than 500 people working in the M&E sector around the world, found that budgets are on the rise for two-thirds of respondents.
There’s also a high level of optimism heading into 2025, with 74 per cent of meetings professionals feeling optimistic about the industry’s health, despite challenges like rising costs and ongoing staffing shortages.
Internal meetings are expected to be the most frequent meeting type in 2025. Professionals predict that half will be held at a hotel, 34 per cent will be in a different city, and 35 per cent will include social activities for networking.
Key trends reshaping the meeting and events industry are technology, sustainability and engagement.
“Our forecast highlights a strong and optimistic outlook for the meetings and events industry,” said Gerardo Tejado, senior VP, professional services, Amex GBT. “In-person meetings continue to dominate with prioritization of attendee engagement, sustainability, and cutting-edge technology like AI to enhance the experience.”
When asked what technology they plan to use in 2025, half of those surveyed answered Artificial intelligence (AI). AI will be used for tasks such as attendee matchmaking (42%), content creation (41%), theme development (40%) and tracking attendee engagement (39%).
Other insights from the report include:
- The top five meetings and events destinations in North America for 2025 are New York, Chicago, Miami, Las Vegas and Dallas.
- Location availability is the number one challenge for planning a meeting in 2025, with high costs, budget cuts and hotel staffing levels among other top concerns for planners.
- The top three elements cited that contribute to a memorable meeting experience are content (38%), venue (27%), and destination (25%).
- 54 per cent of meeting planners are incorporating sustainability goals, best practices and tracking across their meetings.
- A significant majority (86%) of meeting professionals have already implemented diversity, equity, and inclusion best practices or plan to do so in 2025.
