The Return of Fun in Corporate Conferences

After years of packed agendas in ballrooms with presentations and carefully scheduled networking breaks, conferences are remembering an important addition: Attendees want to have fun, too.

According to SkiLift Meetings, conferences are about the experience just as much as the conference itself. What that means is conferences are including travel aspect and focused on destinations rather than solely on presentation topics.

That shift was on display at Destinations International’s 2026 Annual Convention in Portland, where nearly 2,000 destination professionals gathered from around the world. Rather than keeping attendees inside traditional meeting spaces, the convention kicked off with a private reception at Powell’s City of Books, closing the iconic Portland bookstore to the public for an evening designed to feel distinctly local.

It’s part of a larger movement toward experiences attendees will actually remember. Recent research highlighted by Skift found that conference-goers often see some of their most valuable learning and connections happening outside formal sessions.

For planners, that could mean trading another cocktail reception for a museum takeover, local excursion or playful activity. The takeaway? Sometimes the best way to make a meeting more productive is to make it a little more fun.

Read the full article at meetings.skift.com/2026/07/27/portland-bets-its-comeback-on-conventions.