The Key Events Industry Statistics That Matter

As event professionals look to forecast the industry's future, Skift Meetings will continue to cover the research that takes the pulse of the industry, establishes benchmarks, and helps the industry contextualize the changes and establish trends.

Skift Meetings identified the most important 2026 trends and predictions below.

Meetings & Incentive Travel 

57% of event professionals anticipate “favorable conditions” over the next year, 53% expect favorable vs. flat or negative budgets for the year ahead, and 60% predict an increase in meeting attendance. (Meeting Professionals International Meetings Outlook, Q1 2026)

72% of business travelers will attend two off-sites in 2026; one in six will attend at least four. (Navan & Skift State of Corporate Travel & Expense 2026)

38% of meeting buyers are less likely to host multinational meetings in the U.S. than six months ago. 56% say their organization has changed its meetings or events strategy in the past three months, including shifting some events to virtual formats (26%), canceling meetings (24%), reducing employee attendance (24%), or relocating meetings (22%). (Global Business Travel Association April 2026)

In 2025, the average spend per person for incentive travel increased by 4% to $5,100. In 2026, 55% of buyers expect budget increases that either keep pace with or exceed inflation; however, to maintain quality, 25% plan to trim per-person spending. (Incentive Research Foundation 2026 Trends Report)

Political considerations dominate incentive plans for 2026 and 2027. 70% of organizers believe recent political events will result in a decline in inbound incentive travel; 65% think that the complex visa process and travel restrictions are making the U.S. less attractive; and 46% point to shifting views around DEI and the LGBTQ community. (2025 Incentive Travel Index)

Only 37% of incentive buyers anticipate activity above or significantly above 2025 levels over the next two years. (2025 Incentive Travel Index)

Business Travel 

28% of travel buyers expect a decline in volume for 2026, up from 16% in January 2026. (Global Business Travel Association April 2026)

Geopolitical instability has now become the most significant external risk influencing business travel decisions. 76% of buyers say geopolitical conflicts are having an impact on their organization’s business travel and meetings decisions; 83% of travel suppliers indicate these conflicts are materially affecting their customers. (Global Business Travel Association April 2026)

68% of travel managers plan to expand budgets in 2026; however, the share of travel managers expecting budget cuts is up 4%. (Deloitte)

86% of business travelers said they will travel more as a group in 2026, up from 73% the previous year. (Navan & Skift State of Corporate Travel & Expense 2026)

Exhibitions and Trade Shows 

B2B exhibitions will grow 2.1% in 2026. (CEIR Total Index)

Canadian attendance (estimated at 100,000) at U.S. trade shows was down 10% in 2025. (Maritz)

47% of exhibition industry members globally reported an increase in activity of more than 5% in their country in 2025, while 42% say it remained stable (+/-5%) and only 10% saw a decrease of more than 5%. The forecast for 2026 is similar, with 44% expecting an increase in activity of more than 5%, 41% believing it will remain stable, only 8% expecting a decrease of more than 5%. (UFI Global Exhibition Barometer)

47% of exhibitors plan to maintain their current number of shows, while 28% anticipate adding events. (CEIR How the Exhibit Dollar is Spent) 

Hotels

Full-year 2026 U.S. hotel Average Daily Rate (ADR) is projected to rise roughly 1% year-over-year. (STR & Tourism Economics)

In 2026, supply growth will slightly outpace demand growth, resulting in an average occupancy of 62.2%; ADR growth of 1.1%; and RevPAR growth will accelerate from 2025 for an annual increase of 1.9%. (PWC)