Insights From the 2025 Global Meetings and Events Forecast

Each year, American Express Global Business Travel releases its Global Meetings and Events Forecast, which surveys industry leaders and professionals representing corporations, buyers, and suppliers across five continents to gain insight on what the meeting and events industry might look like in the upcoming year. It also reveals region-specific trends for North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

The following are a few trends for the North American region gathered from the 2025 Global Meetings and Events Forecast:

• 70% of respondents expect meeting spend to increase this year. This is down slightly from last year, when 72% of respondents expected spend to go up.
• 83% of meetings planned for the upcoming year will have an in-person component, according to survey respondents. This is up 2% from last year.
• The top five technologies planners expect to use in meetings and events in 2025 are:

1. 1. Mobile apps
   2. Artificial intelligence (AI)
   3. Live polling and feedback tools
   4. On-site check-in tools
   5. QR codes

• The top five planned uses of AI in 2025 are:
  1. Tracking of attendee engagement
  2. Matchmaking for attendees and sponsors
  3. Optimization of event logistics
  4. Translation
  5. Post-event evaluation
• 50% of respondents say sustainability is either very important or extremely important to their organization when planning a gathering. This percentage is significantly lower than in last year’s survey, when 69% of respondents said it was very or extremely important.
• The top five sustainability best practices already implemented for meetings and events include:
  1. Diversity, equity, and inclusion
  2. Minimization of disposables and prioritization of sustainable materials and production
  3. Inclusion of sustainable meetings and events policy
  4. Minimization of ground transportation emissions
  5. Waste management practices like food donation
• The top five destinations for gatherings in 2025 were identified using data collected from 172 American Express Global Business Travel meeting professionals, as well as client meeting data. The top five destinations include:
  1. New York, New York
  2. Chicago, Illinois
  3. Miami, Florida
  4. Las Vegas, Nevada
  5. Dallas, Texas

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