Why MPI, IPW, and ConferenceDirect Are All Betting on This SoCal City

If you work in the meetings industry, there’s a good chance you’ll be in Southern California soon. Over the next five years, Anaheim will host the most influential events in the group travel industry: ConferenceDirect CDX in 2026, Connect Marketplace in 2027, MPI’s World Education Congress in 2029, IPW in 2030, and more. 

By the end of the decade, more than 20,000 meeting planners and tourism leaders will have passed through the destination, many of them arriving with one set of expectations — and leaving with another. After multiple site visits, planners consistently discovered a destination evolving far beyond its reputation, a shift that helped drive the wave of major event wins.

A Golden Decade Shines a Light on Anaheim’s Bright Future

The energy is strongest at OCVIBE, a 100-acre entertainment complex that will open in 2027 and feature 20 acres of public parks and plazas, more than 35 dining concepts, more than 500 hotel rooms, and more. The entire project is roughly three times the size of LA Live, and it’s already reshaping how planners think about designing programs in Anaheim, particularly when it comes to integrating offsite experiences and attendee flow.

OCVIBE will continue to help planners deliver the kind of immersive experiences that today’s attendees expect, but it’s only one part of a broader wave of investment that is changing how the destination is perceived. There is so much on the horizon here that tourism leaders have dubbed the current window “The Golden Decade.” 

In addition to the $4 billion investment at OCVIBE, the destination is in the midst of a 10-year period that includes a series of mega-events, modernization at the nearby John Wayne Airport, a complete renovation of the Hilton Anaheim, and ambitious plans for DisneylandForward that will add new capacity and new experiences at the city’s most-recognizable attraction. These new developments played a big role in ConferenceDirect’s destination selection process.

“What’s exciting is how dramatically Anaheim continues to evolve,” J.J. Wills, senior vice president at ConferenceDirect, said. “The growth of its hotel, dining, and entertainment offerings gives us greater flexibility in how we design the overall experience. 

Fresh Thinking to Fuel Deeper Attendee Engagement

While all those infrastructure enhancements helped distinguish Anaheim from other prospective host cities, Wills highlighted that Visit Anaheim’s collaborative approach — particularly its ability to connect planners with local venues, culinary partners, and entertainment experiences — was the real difference-maker in the site selection process.

“Our most important selection criterion is always the destination partnership,” Wills said. “We look for a partner that brings fresh thinking, creativity, and a strong local perspective to our design process. Anaheim excelled on all fronts.”

Because the Visit Anaheim team regularly participates in the same industry events they are preparing to host, they have a firsthand view of how attendee expectations are evolving, said Ronnie Collins, the organization’s chief sales officer. That perspective is shaping a more intentional approach to designing experiences that feel specific to the destination, rather than interchangeable across cities.

“The most successful events feel connected to the destination. They’re not interchangeable,” Collins said, citing lessons from recent editions of MPI and IPW. 

”We’re very focused on this point. We’re working closely with planners to incorporate elements that are specific to Anaheim into their overall event design, whether that’s our culinary scene, entertainment partnerships, or the broader energy of the resort district.”

Creating Unforgettable Moments for Every Program

With clients like NAMM, which has been held in the city for 50 years and attracts more than 60,000 attendees, Anaheim has cemented its status as a host for mega-events. However, Collins noted that scale alone is no longer enough in today’s meetings industry. Planners are increasingly focused on delivering “wow” moments that define the attendee experience.

A prime example of that kind of awe-inspiring moment: Visit Anaheim’s recent helicopter activation at VidCon, which gave winning creators and fans a chance to arrive in style by landing in the middle of downtown.

“Anaheim gives them the flexibility to execute those kinds of impactful, out-of-the-box ideas without adding unnecessary operational complexity,” Collins said.

Planners in Anaheim regularly integrate high-impact, customized experiences into their programs, including private tours of the Angels Stadium, yacht charters from nearby Newport Beach, VIP concerts at the House of Blues, and more.

Visit Anaheim’s strategic partnership with the Anaheim Ducks also offers exclusive behind-the-scenes access, giving attendees a closer look at how NHL players prepare — a level of access difficult to replicate in other destinations. The team plays at the Honda Center, which is in the midst of a $1 billion renovation to coincide with the opening of OCVIBE next door.

In September, Anaheim’s ability to create high-end experiences will be on display for the audience of approximately 200 VIPs at CDX.

“We intentionally dedicate a full afternoon to curated small‑group experiences, allowing attendees to step outside the conference environment and immerse themselves in the neighborhoods, flavors, and unique character of the destination,” Wills said. 

“Those shared experiences are often what participants remember most. Anaheim provides a rich backdrop for that kind of engagement and makes it easy to design them in a way that feels cohesive with the overall program,” Wills added.

A Foundation for Innovation

In Anaheim, the backdrop includes a growing collection of rooftop patios, dining experiences, and specialty venues designed to extend attendee engagement outside the meeting environment. 

The city’s most iconic attraction offers plenty of those environments, including 137,000 square feet at the Disneyland Hotel and private, themed buy-outs throughout the amusement park. 

Disney’s imaginative spirit extends beyond the parks and across the rest of the city. For example, planners can host attendees at Muzeo, a 25,000-square-foot complex that served as Anaheim’s public library until 1963. Today, the museum offers unforgettable event environments such as the Carnegie Plaza & Courtyard, which can accommodate up to 400 for a reception among a series of waterscapes and olive trees.

And to give attendees a taste of the city’s pioneering craft beer scene, Brewery X offers a lineup of taps that can please every palette including fruit-infused lagers, West Coast hop-forward IPAs, and hard seltzers – all in an industrial-chic space paired with an expansive outdoor beer garden.

Culinary programming also plays a growing role in event design, with planners able to incorporate the destination’s identity through food experiences at Michelin-recommended destinations like THE RANCH Restaurant & Saloon, an urban steakhouse with 10,000 square feet of event space and the distinction of the best place for line dancing in Orange County.

“Many planners still picture the Anaheim they experienced growing up,” Collins said. “What they find today is a destination that has evolved well beyond that memory, with new and reimagined venues, a dynamic culinary scene, and experiences designed to make meetings and events more memorable and impactful.

Preparing for Takeoff: ‘A Sustained Runway of Energy’

In addition to welcoming marquee meetings-focused programming, Anaheim will be in the global spotlight this summer as World Cup fans descend on the entire region. That international appeal will continue to grow during the 2028 Olympic Games when Anaheim serves as the official host for indoor volleyball competition. 

While the Golden Decade will eventually come to a close, the scale of investment points to a longer-term shift in how Anaheim competes for and supports major meetings. As Collins said, “The goal is to build not just a single moment, but a sustained runway of energy and opportunity.” 

To learn more about Anaheim’s long-term vision for creating new energy and opportunities for meetings and events, go to https://www.visitanaheim.org/meetings/.

This content was created collaboratively by Visit Anaheim and Skift’s branded content studio,SkiftX.