Companies are more convinced than ever that in-person meetings and events drive real business results, but a new survey from Global DMC Partners (GDP), a large network of destination management companies and specialized event service providers, reveals a significant gap between that conviction and the ability to prove it, one the industry will need to close in order to sustain momentum.
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Companies are more convinced than ever that in-person meetings and events drive real business results, but a new survey from Global DMC Partners (GDP), a large network of destination management companies and specialized event service providers, reveals a significant gap between that conviction and the ability to prove it, one the industry will need to close in order to sustain momentum.
Global DMC Partners’ latest Meetings & Events Industry Pulse Survey drew 162 responses from meeting and event professionals worldwide —predominantly U.S.-based planners (71%) at the senior management and ownership level — and the results highlight a growing disconnect between the pressure to demonstrate event return on investment (ROI) and the tools available to do so. The takeaway is straightforward: What gets measured gets valued and what gets valued gets funded.
“Planners know their events are working. They see it in stronger client relationships, in deals closed and in employees who feel more connected to the organization. But when budget season arrives and leadership asks for proof, sentiment is not a line item,” shares Catherine Chaulet, Global DMC Partners president and CEO. “What cannot be measured cannot be reported and what cannot be reported becomes an easy target for cuts.”
About 68% of planners report stakeholder pressure to prove the business impact of their meetings and incentive programs, with one in five describing that pressure as significant or extreme. Yet only 30% currently use data or analytics tools to track ROI. Another 26% say they plan to adopt such tools, but have not yet, and 44% have no ROI tracking in place at all. That means 70% of the industry is not yet equipped to answer the question leadership teams are increasingly asking: What did that program deliver?
“Planners who can connect their events to revenue, engagement or retention outcomes are in a stronger position to advocate for continued, and growing, investment,” continues Chaulet. “Those who cannot risk being left without a compelling case when budget conversations happen and, in today’s economic environment, those conversations are happening now, often behind closed doors and without a seat for the planner at the table.”
The good news is that organizations clearly recognize events as business drivers and many are beginning to measure the business impact of face-to-face programs far beyond post-event satisfaction surveys:
“These are not soft metrics. Revenue growth, sales conversions and deal closures are the language of the C-suite,” continues Chaulet. “The organizations that have invested in connecting their event data to business outcomes are building the case for continued and increased investment. The question is why more have not followed suit. Bridging that gap, from intuition to evidence, is the meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MIC)E industry’s next frontier.”
Even as the measurement infrastructure catches up, the investment signals are strong. Three in four respondents (74%) expect their events budgets to stay the same or increase in 2026, including 35% anticipating moderate growth, despite persistent cost pressures across venue and hotel rates (cited by 68%), food and beverage (58%), general inflation (44%) and airfare (41%).
“That companies are making and protecting these investments speaks to a deep organizational confidence that in-person connection delivers. The opportunity now is to back that confidence with the data to match,” said Chaulet.
Beyond revenue and sales metrics, the survey highlights the relationship-driven returns that make in-person events uniquely valuable. Approximately 31% of organizations measure employee retention and satisfaction gains from their meetings and incentive programs and 37% track client engagement improvements. These are the outcomes that drive long-term competitiveness: the employee who stays because they felt invested in, the client relationship that deepens over a shared experience and the partnership forged in a conversation that would never have happened on a video call.
Attendee demand supports the picture. More than a third of planners (36%) are seeing attendance increase compared to previous years and 44% report stable numbers, evidence that appetite for in-person engagement remains strong, despite the availability of virtual alternatives.
“This data confirms what we see across the industry: Companies deeply believe in the power of bringing people together and they are backing that belief with real investment,” concludes Chaulet. “The next step is giving planners the tools and frameworks to translate that belief into measurable proof. The organizations that can show their leadership exactly what a meeting or incentive program delivered — in revenue, in retention, in relationships — will be the ones that earn bigger budgets and stronger seats at the table. We see that as the industry’s biggest opportunity right now.”