EIC forms steering committee for 2026 Economic Significance Study and publishes Q3 2025 Barometer

The Events Industry Council announced the formation of a steering committee for its Economic Significance of Business Events Study, set out initial plans for the research, and released the Q3 2025 Global Business Events Barometer. The committee will guide development of the 2026 study, produced with Oxford Economics, and the advocacy activity around Global Meetings Industry Day on 6 May 2026; EIC said the study would be released that same day. The Q3 2025 Barometer showed mixed movement: the hotel group room nights index measured 92, equivalent to 92% of 2019 levels and a slight decline from Q2, while the RFP activity index, covering proposals sent by planners for future events, rose to 106% of 2019 levels. Oxford Economics expected slightly slower global growth, with world GDP expanding 2.8% in the current year and 2.7% in 2026. Travel spending in North America was slowing to 2.5% growth for the year, partly because of a pull-back in international travel to the United States.