Thursday, June 25, 2026

🌎 Surprises in New Destination Ranking

U.S. News & World Report ranked the 30 best U.S. conference cities for 2026-2027. Las Vegas, Chicago, and Orlando took the top three spots, but the first surprise came in at #4.

Miguel Neves, Skift Meetings Editor-in-Chief

June 25th, 2026

IN THIS EDITION

London & Partners faces cuts, lands $9.4M anti-disinformation campaign.
How The Annabelle Project is helping build the industry's next generation.
U.S. News & World launches meeting destination ranking.
Plus, the first JW Marriott All-Inclusive resort in Costa Rica, and Life Science Connect acquires CDMO Live and PharmaSource.

Read on below.

RECOGNITION

Deadline approaching - Submit your entry by July 1.

The Skift IDEA Awards features five meetings and events categories: hotels, venues & convention centers, destination marketing organizations, event technology, and cruise lines.

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FEATURED STORIES

London & Partners Faces Cuts, Lands $9.4M Anti-Disinformation Campaign

By Miguel Neves

The Mayor of London is investing millions to try and change how the city is perceived online. London & Partners will run the campaign despite being impacted by funding cuts that curtail its work in attracting business events.

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Helping Build the Events Industry's Next Generation

By Andrea Doyle

The Annabelle Project isn't the events industry's first mentorship program, but it may be the first one paying deliberate attention to who the industry has been overlooking.

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U.S. News & World Report’s Inaugural Meeting Destination Rankings: Here’s How Cities Stacked Up

By Barbara Scofidio

U.S. News & World Report has taken a stab at rating meeting destinations — and landed a few surprises.

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The Data Behind a More Meaningful Incentive Program

ITA Group + Skift Meetings

It’s not a five-star resort. Instead, it’s data. Learn how one of the most powerful meetings and incentives agencies collects attendee information to build experiences that create deeper connections that outlast the trip.

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FREE REPORT

Our latest report uncovers how AI is transforming the event experience and provides crucial insights for anyone looking to invest in event tech today.

What’s inside:

A vision of a reimagined the ideal AI-powered event experience.
A plain-language explainer on LLMs, agentic AI, and MCP.
130+ AI-native event tech tools mapped across event phases.
Questions to ask and red flags to look out for buying event tech.

This report was produced in partnership with MPI and is sponsored by Wordly.

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Skift Meetings Toolkit

Great events are built on strategy, innovation, and the right resources. The Skift Meetings Toolkit is your go-to hub for best practices in managing meetings and events.

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