David Adler from GatheringPoint has created an incredible wide-ranging collection of free resources for anyone interested in maximising the impact and outcomes from their events. Workbooks and checklists cover themes such as Event Strategy, Outcome Planning, Formats & Facilitation, Attendee Psychology, Risk Management, Marketing and Sponsorship!
This report from UFI in association with Oxford Economics summarises the direct, indirect and induced impacts of the exhibitions sector within the UK economy in 2025. It highlights 1,154 exhibitions involving 6.8 million visitors and 139,000 exhibitors, supporting more than 127,000 jobs, generating £11.7bn in economic output and contributing £6.1bn towards the country’s GDP.
In the latest Northstar/Cvent Meetings Industry PULSE Survey, conducted in partnership with Phocuswright, the level of planner optimism largely continues from the previous cycle, the percentage of planners booking and actively sourcing new events is up year-over-year, whiles there is also evidence of geopolitical and economic uncertainty taking a toll.
EIC, in partnership with Oxford Economics, has released the full 2026 Global Economic Significance of Business Events Study, providing a comprehensive examination of the scale and broader value of the global business events sector. They found business events generated US$3.1 trillion in total business sales. Download the full report via the link in this article.
Skift analyses new research from Freeman that confirms what meeting planners have suspected for years: the agenda they spend months building isn’t where attendees are finding the most value. Attendees say they would ideally spend 54% of their learning time in unstructured formats rather than formal sessions. At trade shows, that figure rises to 64%.
PCMA’s newly released report provides in-depth analysis of the trends, market dynamics, innovation priorities, and stakeholder perspectives shaping one of the world’s fastest-evolving sectors. Combining sector intelligence, community insights, and practical implementation tools, the report equips event professionals, destinations, and suppliers with actionable strategies to make more informed business and event decisions.
The German Convention Bureau has created the world’s first detailed national map that identifies centres of scientific and technological research expertise and links them with key meetings infrastructure, enabling associations and other conference decision-makers to more effectively plan events taking into account intellectual capital criteria.
Business events generate £33.6bn annually for the UK economy, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs, and driving trade, innovation and business relationships. Despite this, the report highlights that the sector is not consistently recognised within government, with fragmented engagement, and growth constrained by the absence of a clear national strategy, coordinated leadership and sustained funding.
SFA Connect, specialists in lead generation and strategic matchmaking in the business events industry, have reviewed over 60 research projects they have conducted over the last decade to identify key evolutionary changes to destination event attraction strategies. Where the focus was previously on identifying bidding opportunities, DMOs are now adopting more sophisticated destination policy-supporting models.
TBOE’s report highlights a business events sector that has transitioned from post-pandemic recovery into a phase of stabilisation. Survey findings show that growth is moderating, while interviews point to a more complex operating environment shaped by structural constraints and external pressures. Competitiveness is increasingly related to value, connectivity, sustainability, policy alignment and long-term impact.
In partnership with The Meetings Show, event sustainability platform TRACE by Isla has created this series of interactive response cards to assist meeting planners in overcoming objections and making the case for management commitment to and investment in sustainable practices. Each card gives a comeback line with proof behind it and a practical next step.
Deanna Varga, CEO & Founder of Mayvin Global, has published a series of three follow-up White Papers to her COVID and Association Toolkit papers for association leaders. The overall theme is Mission and Margin, with three strategic areas of attention: Financial Sustainability, Mitigating Risk and Innovating for Growth. Varga notes that associations frequently struggle to…
Kai Hattendorf, Partner at JWC, outlines the objectives and key principles behind their new Destination Development Model, designed for DMOs and policymakers to measure how a destination’s current mix of business events is impacting key economic and societal objectives, and where there is the potential for key priorities to be supported by targeting events in…
At their IMEX press conference in Frankfurt, Destination Canada and #MEET4IMPACT presented this extended summary of the findings from the multi-year, multi-event Canadian Legacy & Impact Study, focusing on the key drivers of long-term impact, the critical success factors that determine whether impact strategies will be effective, and the wide range of tactical legacy drivers…
In the latest PULSE Survey, planner optimism has increased dramatically: The percentage of planners who are more optimistic than they were two months ago has nearly doubled since the March PULSE Survey. The research indicates meetings demand is strong — and that planners must navigate significant cost-related and geopolitical challenges to execute those business events.
Developed by USTA’s Group Travel Network, MMTM is a unified industry platform and resource kit aimed at shaping how business executives understand when and why meeting in person is worthwhile. These resources are designed to be adapted and distributed to marketing and sales teams to incorporate into client campaigns, sales conversations and content channels.
The International Research Foundation (IRF) and Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE), with research partner Oxford Economics, have launched the 2026 edition of the Incentive Travel Index (ITI), the most comprehensive and longest-running annual study of the global incentive travel industry, exploring geopolitical risk, AI adoption, qualifier preferences and the future of destination management companies.
This article from the Centre for Events and Festivals analyses and summarises a new research report on long-term event impact from the University of Technology Sydney Business School, which shows governments are vastly underselling their investment in attracting conferences, justifying it purely with tourism data such as delegate hotel spend.
Destination Canada’s research provides the most comprehensive evidence to date of how events create lasting economic, social and environmental impact. In collaboration with #MEET4IMPACT and GainingEdge, thousands of data points were analyzed from 15 global events hosted across Canada in key sectors. The findings are clear: impact is not accidental — it is engineered.
Global conflict, policy change and socio-political instability are having a growing and measurable impact on the international meetings and conferences industry. The findings reveal a significant shift in the operating environment for international meetings. 73.84% of respondents said global conflicts have impacted their ability to plan or host international meetings, up from 53.92% in 2025.
Building on the Copenhagen Risk Assessment White Paper from 2023, the Copenhagen Risk Navigator 2026 aims to elevate risk management to a core business discipline across the entire international business events ecosystem. The Navigator equips organisations, associations and destinations with a shared framework and structured approach to understanding, prioritising, and mitigating risk.
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