The meetings and events industry is projected to flourish in 2025, with meeting professionals expressing confidence in the future and noting planned increases in meeting budgets, as revealed in the 14th annual Global Meetings and Events Forecast by Amex GBT Meetings & Events. 

The 2025 forecast points to solid growth ahead, with increasing budgets and a positive outlook from professionals, despite challenges like rising costs and ongoing staffing shortages. In fact, 66% expect their budgets to grow, intending to allocate these funds towards a variety of business priorities. 

The forecast surveyed more than 500 meetings and events professionals worldwide, supplemented by insights from more than a dozen industry leaders. While 74% of professionals remain optimistic about the industry’s health, this marks a tempering of the high expectations seen in 2024, signaling a return to more balanced outlooks. 

Meeting professionals continue to anticipate that internal meetings will be the most frequent meeting type in 2025 — like they had predicted for 2024. In the forecast, meeting professionals expect that nearly half of internal meetings will be held at a hotel, 34% will be in a different city and 35% will include social activities for networking. 

Additional highlights from the 2025 forecast include: 

  • Two-thirds of respondents are seeing an increase in overall meeting spend.
  • Businesses are approaching meetings and events in 2025 strategically and with rich, personalized experiences in mind to make the most out of in-person  time.
  • Location availability is the No. 1 challenge for planning a meeting in 2025.

Technology as a Key Driver

Technology is reshaping the meetings and events industry, serving as a crucial tool for personalization. From automation to generative artificial intelligence (AI), these technologies boost efficiency, creativity and engagement. AI is at the forefront, with meeting planners prioritizing its use in 2025.

The forecast shows that professionals are ready to explore AI’s potential across various areas — particularly to improve the attendee experience. The main tech focus for meeting planners is AI (50%), while mobile apps continue to be an expectation at events. AI is being or will be used for tasks like attendee matchmaking (42%), content creation (41%), theme development (40%) and tracking attendee engagement (39%). 

Sustainability Goals and Practices Continue to Rise

Sustainability remains a crucial element in well-developed meeting programs. Over half (54%) of meeting professionals consider it highly important in their 2025 planning, with 47% having established clear sustainability goals and action plans, and also focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) practices, waste management, and eco-friendly food and beverage options. A significant majority (86%) of meeting professionals have already implemented DE&I best practices or plan to do so. 

Engagement Is Essential

Attendee engagement plays a vital role in the success of any meeting or event, shaping the overall experience and leaving a lasting impact. Meeting professionals have highlighted several key elements that contribute to a memorable experience, with the top three being content (38%), venue (27%) and destination (25%). When surveyed about budget increases, the top priority for professionals was to invest in “improving the on-site experience.” 

The 2025 Forecast is based on a survey of more than 500 meetings and events professionals from around the world, as well as in-depth interviews with over a dozen industry leaders. The survey ran from May 23 to June 10, 2024. Survey and interview respondents represent corporations, associations, buyers and suppliers from five continents and 26 countries. The result is a statistically and globally representative picture of the 2025 meetings and events industry. 

Download the full 2025 Meetings and Events Forecast.