AMEX’s 2026 Forecast: The Future of Meetings Is Surprisingly Transformative

The new AMEX forecast isn’t subtle—AI is in, budgets are strained, and attendees want an experience that hits harder than the keynote

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After years of volatility, the meetings and events industry is finally entering a period that feels—dare we say it—stable. And according to the new AMEX Global Meetings & Events Forecast, planners aren’t just optimistic about 2026—they’re gearing up for a full-on reinvention. In-person gatherings are back, expectations are sky-high, and the industry is shifting from recovery mode to creativity mode.

Yet this new era isn’t simply a return to form. It’s something more ambitious—a reimagining of what events can be, shaped by new generational demands, new technologies, and an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how experiences influence human behavior.

Stability…and Other Plot Twists

After half a decade of turbulence, planners say the sector has “settled into its new normal.” In-person meetings are no longer a source of debate—they’re the expectation. And for the second year running, the No. 1 priority for meeting professionals is improving attendee experience with more memorable events.

In-person gatherings have reclaimed their central role, planners are operating with renewed confidence, and the industry’s priorities are aligning around creativity, technology, and human experience.

Why? Because attendees now judge events the way they judge consumer experiences—demanding personalization, interactivity, and social connection. Compared with five years ago:

And they’re not subtle about it.

As one panelist put it, people want to leave an event saying, “I’ve tried this. We felt like this. I want to go back.”

Experience Is the New Open Bar

Meeting professionals continue to rally around a single top priority: improving attendee experience, a goal cited by one in three respondents. And today’s audiences are very clear about what that means. Nearly 42% want more interactive sessions, 40% want more social connection, and another 40% expect visible sustainability actions woven into the event design.

This shift is driven by unprecedented generational diversity. With five generations now sharing the same ballroom, planners are redesigning programming to be shorter, more inclusive, and more emotionally resonant. Micro-communities, neuroscience-inspired formats, and flexible schedules are no longer experimental—they’re becoming the markers of modern event design.

Your New Co-Planner Is a Robot (And It’s Great)

Artificial intelligence is no longer the future of event planning—it’s the engine humming beneath its surface. Planners are embracing it in ways that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. AI has quietly become the co-planner many professionals didn’t realize they needed; the AMEX report notes that 34% will use AI to generate creative concepts and themes, while 35% plan to use it for attendee communications and 29% for optimizing event logistics.

What makes this transformation meaningful is how seamlessly AI is beginning to influence the attendee journey itself. Behind the scenes, 40% of planners expect to deploy AI-powered apps that deliver personalized schedules and smart networking suggestions. It’s a shift that allows the planner to step back from the administrative grind—registration, routing, content tagging—and step forward into the work that truly differentiates an event: strategy, storytelling, and experience design.

AI isn’t replacing the human architect of the meeting; it’s amplifying them. And for many planners, that amplification is beginning to feel indispensable.

The Price Is Wrong

But even as optimism surges, cost pressures cast a long shadow over 2026. According to the report, 71% of planners expect per-attendee costs to rise, and nearly 38% say cost inflation will be their No. 1 challenge in the year ahead. The increases are not subtle—they touch every line item, from hotel rates to food and beverage to staffing, all of which are becoming harder to contain.

These pressures are forcing planners to think differently. Some are experimenting with less traditional days of the week; others are exploring secondary cities, trimming attendee lists, or scaling back nonessential elements. Nearly 30% say they’ve already shifted venues in response to economic uncertainty, and 27% have reduced giveaways or staffing to reallocate budget toward core experience moments.

Yet even in this environment, attendee expectations aren’t softening—they’re rising. That paradox is what makes 2026 such a defining year. Planners must create more value with fewer resources, blending creativity with pragmatic decision-making. And once again, AI is emerging as a bridge between ambition and affordability: planners who embrace it recover time, uncover efficiencies, and often reclaim part of the budget otherwise lost to manual effort.

Welcome to the Age of Meaningful Meetings

Sustainability and inclusion have moved from the margins to the mainstream of event strategy. According to the report, 38% of organizations now have formal sustainable meeting policies, and another 34% are reducing disposables in favor of environmentally conscious materials. Attendees notice these commitments—especially younger participants, who increasingly select events based on environmental impact and cultural awareness.

The same shift is happening around inclusion. More than 35% of planners have implemented accessibility features, from wheelchairs paths to captioning to low-sensory rooms. Another 33% have adopted inclusive content and communications, ensuring the event reflects the diverse audiences who attend. These are no longer fringe considerations; they are expectations shaped by a cultural landscape that prizes belonging as much as information.

But perhaps the most important evolution is in how event value is being measured. Traditional ROI tells only part of the story, which is why planners are turning toward Return on Experience (ROE)—a metric that captures how attendees felt, what they remembered, and whether the event shifted perception or sparked connection. It’s a qualitative lens supported by quantitative tools. The AMEX report shows that 28% of planners will use AI for post-event evaluation, signaling a future where emotional impact can be measured with as much rigor as financial results.

Sustainability, inclusion, and ROE together represent a new value equation—one that aligns event success with human experience, social impact, and organizational purpose.

Goodbye Logistics Manager—Hello Experience Architect

The 2026 meetings landscape is not defined by recovery; it’s defined by reinvention. Planners today are operating with more responsibility, more complexity, and more creative opportunity than ever before. They are expected to champion sustainability, design for inclusion, leverage AI, manage costs with surgical precision, and deliver unforgettable experiences—all at once.

But for those willing to embrace this expanded role, the future is bright. The tools are more powerful. The data is richer. The audience is hungry for meaningful connection. And the pressure to innovate is creating a wave of new thinking across the entire industry.

After years of uncertainty, the meetings sector has found its momentum again—and this time, it’s moving forward with purpose.

Any thoughts, opinions, or news? Please share them with me at vince@meetingsevents.com.

Photo by Gemini