Keeping up with the latest trends is paramount to keeping your meetings and events relevant in today’s ever-evolving landscape, and Visit Orlando is here to assist (Orange County Convention Center pictured).

Updated Aug. 25, 2026

A hallmark of the events industry is the desire for new and innovative events. Here are some meetings and events trends to keep on your radar — and the many ways that Visit Orlando can help you make the most of them.

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Trend No. 1: In-Person, Hybrid and Virtual Are Here to Stay

If there is one lesson long-term WFH and digital conferences taught us, it’s that connecting face to face is of paramount importance for exchanging ideas and coming together for a common purpose. While in-person meetings are back, we’re also acknowledging that hybrid and virtual meetings are here to stay.

Orlando has proven itself as the quintessential example for in-person events, tradeshows and conventions. The OCCC leads the way, showing the rest of the country, event planners and attendees how to put on shows. For starters, they did business better than usual during multiple large-scale events including IPW, one of the largest international travel tradeshows in the world with 4,800 delegates — including 500 media professionals — from 60 countries.

The OCCC has also reeled in recreational fishing show ICAST with 12,000 exhibitors, buyers and media; the National Association of Home Builders hosting 45,000 industry professionals; and ASI, the promotional products industry show, registering more than 3,000 suppliers and distributor professionals.

While those shows demonstrated that in-person events can be successful, a recent report by tech giant Amadeus makes clear the need for ongoing hybrid meetings that include both in-person and virtual components. Meaning, hybrid will evolve into an essential part of the meeting experience of the future. The report states that hybrid provides a nearly complete meeting experience. Similarly, hotel event managers can stand out by helping planners new to hybrid events tie together the in-person and at-home experiences.

Visit Orlando has introduced virtual site tours to provide an alternate opportunity for busy meeting professionals and attendees to experience the city when they are crunched for time. Attendees can virtually see all that Orlando has to offer from the comfort of their mobile device, tablet, computer, or even virtual-reality headset with the Orlando Virtual Tour.

Using state-of-the-art technology, this innovative, interactive tour provides the full Orlando experience, introducing key meeting venues, from the award-winning Orange County Convention Center campus and top hotels, to dining and entertainment hot spots, to world-famous theme parks and attractions. Users can also explore downtown Orlando, the tech-focused Lake Nona area, and the culturally enriching museums and charming restaurants of Winter Park, all certain to delight attendees.

Trend No. 2: Unique Venues

Attendees yearn for transformative experiences to excite them, and Orlando features an extensive array of potential venues to help meeting planners create those magical moments. These range from cultural events at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, including its brand-new Steinmetz Hall, to the high-end production Drawn to Life by Cirque du Soleil & Disney at Disney Springs®, part of Walt Disney World® Resort.

The International Drive Entertainment District (aka I-Drive) is sure to captivate with Museum of Illusions Orlando at ICON Park®, featuring more exhibits and illusions than any other edutainment destination in Central Florida. Also at ICON Park is the Madame Tussauds Orlando wax museum and The Wheel, a 400-foot observation wheel revealing the most breathtaking view of the famous Central Florida landscape. All this excitement is sure to work up appetites. Hungry attendees can choose from live music joint Tin Roof or Blake Shelton’s Ole Red, which delivers fab food and a sound system to rock your group all night long.

Pointe Orlando is another dining and entertainment center on I-Drive with such favorites as Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar and Main Event Entertainment, offering bowling, billiards and a laser tag arena.

Universal CityWalk at Universal Orlando Resort helps attendees dance the night away at Red Coconut Club or sing karaoke for their supper at CityWalk’s Rising Star, among many other delightful ways to play once the sun goes down. Of course, the lavish "Industrial Gothic"-themed restaurant and entertainment venue, The Edison at Disney Springs, will delight attendees with varied entertainment such as stilt walkers, DJs and live bands, ensuring your group is still hopping long after the theme parks have closed.

Trend No. 3: New Teambuilding Events

Companies are looking for something extraordinary and different to engage their attendees. Self-proclaimed “of and for the future,” Lake Nona Wave Hotel has created a remarkable 90-minute “Mindset Workshop” that merges classroom-like discussions with physical activities. Experiences include ROX Climbing, the region’s only 42-foot rock climbing tower, or meditation at the Chopra Mind Body-Zone & Spa. Nearby, Nona Adventure Park is a water-based entertainment center with an inflatable aqua-park and wakeboarding/waterskiing that thrills groups with its one-of-a-kind, 60-foot climbing tower and ropes course.

Your group can play outside the cubicle with Wildly Different, a DMC in Orlando that creates results-oriented, in-person and virtual teambuilding activities that bring attendees together in a collaborative and entertaining environment. Hop aboard their Float Your Boat where groups work together to build a boat in a race against all other teams with nothing more than cardboard and duct tape.

SurStrivor Tribes will challenge attendees in a series of creative, physical and mental challenges. Who will survive and who will be thrown off the island at the end of the activity? Only time will tell in this competitive teambuilding activity with a tropical twist.

Another company, Best Corporate Events & Team Building, offers charitable CSR events like bike building, where 3,400 Lowe’s managers first built and then donated 1,048 bicycles. Their Fiesta Fun! recipe contest puts teams together to make their own brand of salsa, guacamole and golden margaritas. Judges award medals for the best taste, creativity and presentation.