IMEX America 2026 参会人数破纪录，行业乐观情绪背后成本压力凸显

Skift Take

IMEX America proved the meetings industry still wants to gather. The question heading into 2027 is how much organizations will pay for the privilege.

At IMEX America, Optimism Comes With a Price Tag

Skift Take: IMEX America proved the meetings industry still wants to gather. The question heading into 2027 is how much organizations will pay for the privilege.

IMEX America 2026 broke attendance records, bringing more than 17,800 participants to Las Vegas for 96,000 scheduled meetings. 

“There’s been a spirit of optimism across the show floor,” said IMEX CEO Carina Bauer. “Time and again clients have told us that what makes this show work for them is that it feels personal.”

But beneath the optimism on the show floor, Bauer acknowledged that the industry is confronting plenty of uncertainty.  

Events are getting more expensive, international attendance at U.S. gatherings is declining, and planners are rethinking where, when, and why they bring people together.

Research released around the show revealed the tension. Amex GBT found that 93% of meeting professionals are optimistic about 2027, up from 85% a year earlier. Yet the share describing themselves as “very optimistic” fell from 62% to 45%.

Meanwhile, Maritz reported a second consecutive year of declining international registrations at U.S. events, while its new Event Price Index documented how dramatically meeting costs have climbed since 2019.

Décor and entertainment costs are projected to rise 146% between 2019 and 2027, transportation 95%, staffing 87%, and food and beverage 56%.

The increases are striking at the individual line-item level. A floral centerpiece that cost $20 in 2019 is projected to cost $40 in 2027. A one-way sedan transfer has climbed from $95 to a projected $184, while an hourly motorcoach rental has nearly doubled, from $110 to $214.

Airfare is another pressure point. A $400 airfare allowance that once worked in meeting budgets now needs to be closer to $650, according to Maritz.

Yet rising costs aren’t necessarily translating into fewer meetings.

Caesars Entertainment Chief Sales Officer Michael Massari, who has spent four decades in the business, said organizations aren’t abandoning face-to-face gatherings because of higher prices.

Asked whether planners are cutting their programs in response to rising costs, he was blunt: “Absolutely not.”

Price sensitivity, he noted, is nothing new.

“I’m trying to think of a time in my 40 years in business when customers weren’t interested in price,” Massari said.

What has changed is the scrutiny surrounding the decision to gather. “People are really thoughtful about when they meet and why they meet, who they bring,” he said.

That distinction may define 2027. Organizations aren’t necessarily questioning whether meetings matter. They’re questioning how to deliver them without allowing costs to spiral.

International Attendance Is Moving in the Wrong Direction

IMEX America’s record participation contrasts with broader weakness in international attendance at U.S. events.

International registrations among Maritz’s association and trade show clients declined 12% in 2026, following an 8% drop in 2025. Overall registrations, including both domestic and international attendees, fell 4% this year.

Maritz identified attendee geography as the biggest factor in weaker attendance, citing rising travel costs, economic and geopolitical uncertainty, and perceptions of the United States as a destination.

Steve O’Malley, Maritz’s chief operating officer, said very large trade shows are outperforming smaller association events. Funding cuts have particularly affected government-funded sectors, including scientific research and academia.

The findings highlight an important distinction: A record-breaking global industry marketplace doesn’t necessarily reflect the conditions smaller events face when they depend on international participation.

Geopolitical instability is already changing planners’ decisions. Amex GBT found that 39% of meeting professionals have changed a destination or city because of geopolitical instability, while 37% have shifted more meetings to virtual formats. Only 22% reported holding fewer meetings.

On the incentive side of the business, more than 60% of respondents to the 2026 Incentive Travel Index, released at the show by the Incentive Research Foundation and SITE, stated that geopolitical instability is already impacting the destinations they use. 

Planners appear more willing to change where or how they meet than to eliminate meetings altogether.

Yet the industry’s formal risk planning hasn’t necessarily kept pace with those decisions.

Although 79% of Amex GBT respondents said they apply risk management practices to all or most meetings, just 25% include safety and security in their meeting policies.

More Money, Shorter Experiences

The changing economics of gathering are particularly apparent in incentive travel. Average incentive spending has climbed to $6,900 per person, excluding airfare, up 28% from 2024, according to Maritz-managed program budgets covering 2025 through 2027.

At the same time, trips are getting shorter.

The average incentive trip has dropped from 4.6 nights in 2024 to 4.3 nights as companies seek ways to control costs without sacrificing the experience.

Airfare is also reshaping destination decisions.

Maritz reported average fares exceeding $2,600 for U.S.-originating passengers traveling to Asia and $2,700 for Africa this year. Clients are increasingly reluctant to select destinations requiring more than one flight connection for most participants.

The result is a changing value equation: Companies are spending more per participant while becoming increasingly deliberate about trip length, accessibility, and destination risk.

AI Changes the Equation, but Face-to-Face Still Matters

Technology is adding another layer to the industry’s changing economics.

Marriott International is preparing for AI to reshape how meeting planners research venues and book group business, but it doesn’t want new technology intermediaries simply adding another layer of fees.

“We will compensate our partners for the incremental demand that they bring to our business,” Andy Kauffman, Marriott’s chief commercial officer for the U.S. and Canada, said.

Kauffman said AI partnerships must complement Marriott’s direct-booking strategy and deliver value to hotel owners.

“I have a fiduciary responsibility to our owners,” he said. “I have to make moves that not only improve our capture rate, but also improve their profitability.”

For planners, AI adoption remains uneven.

Only 24% of Amex GBT respondents plan to use AI-enabled venue sourcing in 2027. Their most frequently cited planned use, at 34%, is equipping onsite staff with insights to personalize attendee service.

But Massari sees another consequence of increasingly sophisticated AI: a stronger argument for gathering in person.

As AI-generated video becomes more convincing, he believes authentic human interaction becomes more valuable.

Asked whether face-to-face meetings matter more in an AI-driven world, Massari said, “They are even more important.” 

IMEX America’s record attendance reinforces that importance and suggests the appetite for face-to-face business remains strong. Research released around the show suggests sustaining it will take more than enthusiasm.

Planners are being asked to deliver experiences that justify higher costs, navigate geopolitical uncertainty, and make increasingly selective decisions about who needs to be in the room.

The industry’s challenge in 2027 may not be convincing organizations to meet. It may be proving that every meeting is worth the investment.