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Atlanta, Georgia, June 2026. InEvent, the enterprise event management platform for in-person, hybrid, and virtual experiences, has released its inaugural State of Enterprise Events 2026 report, offering one of the most comprehensive snapshots of how enterprise event teams are navigating a rapidly changing industry.
Drawing on survey responses from more than 2,000 event professionals across six industries and platform intelligence from over 50,000 events, the report examines the strategies, priorities, and pressures shaping enterprise event programs in 2026.
The findings reveal that in-person events have firmly re-established themselves as a strategic business priority. According to the report, 90.4% of respondents rated in-person events as "very important," while 52% attributed at least half of their closed-won deals directly to in-person experiences. Seventy-eight percent identified in-person events as their most impactful channel, and 66% said they generated the highest revenue.
At the same time, event teams are being asked to do more with less.
While 67% of respondents expect event budgets to increase in 2026, only 6.5% anticipate a significant rise in spending. Meanwhile, 71% expect costs to continue climbing, widening the gap between investment and operational demands. Cost per attendee has already increased by approximately 6% year over year.
Artificial intelligence also emerged as a defining theme. The report found that 72% of professionals view AI as valuable or essential to their work, and half of the respondents already use AI in event planning. However, adoption remains uneven, with 26% reporting that they have yet to implement AI into their workflows. Marketing and data analysis currently represent the most common use cases.
Engagement remains one of the industry's greatest challenges and opportunities. Nearly three-quarters of respondents identified engagement as a key success factor, while 39% named it their single biggest challenge. The report suggests that teams achieving stronger outcomes are moving away from passive event formats and investing instead in curated networking, multi-modal participation, and year-round engagement strategies.
The research also points to significant progress in measurement and reporting. The proportion of professionals struggling to demonstrate event ROI fell from 70% to 40% in just one year, a shift the report links directly to increased investment in centralized data and CRM integrations. Attendance figures alone are no longer considered sufficient indicators of success, with qualitative insights carrying increasing weight in executive decision-making.
Finally, the report found that enterprise event technology is entering a new phase of consolidation. With 88% of teams planning to invest in event technology and the global event management software market continuing to expand, organizations are increasingly replacing disconnected point solutions with unified platforms that manage registration, engagement, analytics, and CRM integration within a single ecosystem.
"Enterprise event teams are under more pressure than ever before," said the InEvent team. "They're being asked to prove ROI, create experiences that genuinely drive business outcomes, and operate efficiently despite rising costs. This report provides the benchmarks and insights they need to make smarter decisions in a changing landscape."
The State of Enterprise Events 2026 report concludes with a practical ten-point playbook designed to help organizations adapt to these trends and build more resilient, measurable, and impactful event programs.
InEvent is an enterprise event management platform that helps organizations plan, execute, and scale in-person, hybrid, and virtual events worldwide. The platform combines registration, onsite solutions, engagement, networking, analytics, and AI-powered event technology into a unified system designed for modern event operations.
