Global Meetings Industry Day
ADVOCACY | #GMID2026 Powered by Events Industry Council
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT
Business Events and Exhibitions
The Catalyst for Global Growth
This year’s Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID) was more than a moment of celebration. It began a year-long rallying cry to amplify the power and impact of business events around the world.
Grounded in EIC’s research, including the Global Economic Significance of Business Events Study, the Quarterly Global Events Barometer and the Futures Landscape Study, GMID gives our industry a shared platform to tell a stronger, more consistent story about the value business events create. EIC’s Futures Landscape work reinforces the need for a more unified voice, with industry respondents identifying advocacy as a critical force shaping the future of the sector.
Together, meetings, conferences, exhibitions and incentive travel drive economic growth, support jobs, strengthen communities, accelerate innovation and create the human connections that move industries forward.
This work cannot be limited to one day. Throughout the year, EIC and its global community will use research, data and shared messaging to help policymakers, business leaders, media and stakeholders better understand what business events make possible.
Business events are where ideas are exchanged, partnerships are formed, talent is developed and progress begins. They create the conditions for trust, collaboration and meaningful action across sectors, borders and communities.
This year’s advocacy messaging highlights four ways business events power progress around the world — and invites every part of the ecosystem to carry that message forward.
Because when people come together, remarkable things happen.
Why Advocacy Matters
In a world marked by geopolitical complexity, workforce transformation and economic uncertainty, the value of business events has never been more important — or more necessary to demonstrate.
In May 2026, the Events Industry Council released the 2026 Global Economic Significance of Business Events Study, conducted in partnership with Oxford Economics.
This seminal research quantifies the global economic and societal impact of the business events industry and provide updated, credible data to support advocacy efforts at every level. View study.
GMID serves as a global year-round platform to amplify these findings and mobilise our industry around a unified message.
Together, we will demonstrate that business events are:
- Economic engines driving investment and growth
- Talent accelerators supporting workforce development
- Innovation platforms where ideas become action
- Community builders strengthening local economies
- Catalysts for global progress
“This is our moment to stand together and demonstrate, with clarity and confidence, the indispensable role business events play in driving economic growth, strengthening communities and accelerating innovation.
When we unite around credible data and a shared voice, we reinforce not only our industry’s value — but its future.”
Amy Calvert
President and CEO
Events Industry Council
The Power of the Data
The 2026 Global Economic Significance Study provides the data our industry needs to advocate for its future.
The study:
- Delivers fresh, independent economic impact data
- Quantifies jobs supported, tax revenue generated and business activity created
- Demonstrates regional, national and global economic impact
- Strengthens advocacy conversations with policymakers
- Provides authoritative insights for destinations, planners, venues and suppliers
Who Should Participate
GMID is for the entire business events ecosystem:
- Associations
- Corporations
- Destinations and DMOs
- Venues and hospitality partners
- Event technology providers
- Exhibition and production partners
- Educators and students
- CMPs and emerging professionals
If business events are part of your mission — GMID is your platform.
“Global Meetings Industry Day belongs to every part of our ecosystem — from planners and suppliers to destinations, educators and corporate leaders. When we show up together, we demonstrate the true scale and influence of our industry.”
Stephanie Harris
President, IRF
2026 Board Chair, EIC
How to Get Involved
1. Host a Local Activation
Organise a breakfast, roundtable, campus event or community discussion highlighting the impact of business events in your region.
2. Engage Policymakers
Invite elected officials and community leaders to attend your event and learn how business events fuel jobs, innovation and economic development.
3. Amplify the Message
Join the global conversation using:
#EventsDriveInnovation
#EventsDriveCommunities
#EventsDriveJobs
#EventsDriveEconomies
4. Support the Research
Consider becoming a sponsor of the 2026 Global Economic Significance Study and help strengthen the data foundation that supports advocacy for our entire industry.
Our Shared Responsibility
Business events bring people together to solve problems, build relationships and move ideas forward.
But the impact of our industry cannot be assumed — it must be demonstrated.
Global Meetings Industry Day is more than a celebration. It is a coordinated, year-round global advocacy effort designed to ensure policymakers, communities and business leaders understand the true value of business events.
When we show up together — with data, with purpose and with a unified voice — we strengthen the future of our industry.
Join us.
Activate your community.
Amplify the message.
Because business events drive the world forward.
