Cost is Planners’ Top Challenge, Creating Engaging Experiences is Their Top Priority 

More than a third (38%) of respondents to Amex GBT’s 2026 Global Meetings & Events Forecast, released this week at IMEX, admit that increasing costs will be their top challenge for the year ahead.

Seven in 10 (71%) of the meeting professional respondents to the survey expect their costs to increase in the year ahead. More than a third (38%) said they anticipate that their costs will increase slightly, while 6% expect a significant increase of 11% or more. The types of meetings expected to feel the biggest impact will be conferences without trade shows or exhibits, incentives, product launches, healthcare meetings, and training meetings.

As a result, 39% of respondents said they will hold more virtual meetings, 35% said they will seek supplementary funding such as sponsorships, and 30% said they will change venues. Other strategies mentioned included holding fewer or smaller events, cutting food and beverage spend, and decreasing the number of giveaways/gifts.

Attendee Experience Remains Key

Despite this, survey respondents were far from pessimistic, citing that their top priority remains the same as it was in last year’s survey: "improving the attendee experience with more memorable events.” During the rollout of the research at IMEX this week, the Amex team put that into practice by creating a Jeopardy-style game show complete with prizes. 

The report explored ways to engage the five generations of attendees that are now in the workplace. Most popular among respondents are more interactive sessions (42%), more social activities and networking opportunities (40%), and including visible sustainability (40%).

Though social media and AI are making it easier to research and uncover creative destinations and venues for events, cost is key when it comes to the final decision. More than a third of respondents (38%) cited cost as the top consideration in choosing a destination, and 30% cited cost as the most important factor in choosing a venue.

As a result, the report identified what it called a “creativity challenge”: 24% of meeting professionals agree that developing creative concepts will be a challenge for 2026, and 18% believe difficulty getting creative and brainstorming support will make it harder to deliver the best possible experience.

“Creativity drives differentiation and makes sure attendees remember and enjoy your experience more than others,”  said Rich Atkinson-Toal, Global Vice President of Amex GBT Meetings & Events’ Brand & Experience Studio. “With scrutiny on ROI, no one can afford to run an event that isn’t truly memorable and makes an impact.”

The 2026 Global Meetings and Events Forecast is based on a survey of 601 meeting professionals in eight countries carried out by YouGov July 14-21, then analyzed by a panel of Amex GBT customers, partners, and specialists.