Face-to-face meetings are expected to thrive in 2025, says Amex GBT Survey.
Results of the 2025 Global Forecast from Amex GBT Meetings & Events point to solid growth for the meetings and events industry. Conducted between May 2023 and June 2024, the 14th annual study surveyed 519 meeting professionals across North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Respondents reflected an overall optimism for the health of the industry while also dealing with ongoing challenges such as rising costs and staffing shortages. Among key takeaways:
Face-to-face reigns. Survey respondents see greater enthusiasm for in-person meetings over hybrid and virtual events, with internal meetings expected to be the most frequent meeting type this year. “In our increasingly digital world, the Forecast continues to show how much we all value human interactions,” noted Gerardo Tejado, Senior Vice President Professional Services, American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) in the study.
Budgets are increasing. A full 66% of respondents expected meeting and event budgets to increase this year, and 74% feel optimistic about the health of the industry. Asked how they would use an increased budget, “improving the onsite experience” was the top priority.
But, costs continue to rise. Rising costs for food and beverage, accommodation and hospitality labor will continue to challenge planning budgets. 40% of respondents said they would change the destination or lodging or shift to a virtual format to manage costs if necessary.
Risk and compliance management is critical. For the first time, risk and compliance questions were included in the study. 75% of respondents viewed risk and compliance as very or extremely important.
AI continues to gain traction. 50% of respondents plan to use AI in 2025, across a broad set of applications. These include connecting attendees and sponsors (42%), content creation (41%) and generating creative event themes (40%).
Sustainability is important but challenging. More than half (54%) of respondents said that sustainability is extremely or very important. However, budget constraints and rising costs may limit resources to deliver on sustainability goals.
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