In this interview at the 2025 IMEX Place Leaders Forum, US Travel Association MD Group Travel Kevin Hinton explains the two critical sides of his job, and how USTA’s efforts in these dimensions interact to support the success of the US business events sector.
Before they travel, overseas visitors to the US frequently receive inaccurate or misleading information on the realities on the ground when applying for visas or passing through Immigration halls, where increased human and technical resources have been deployed to make this a highly efficient experience. USTA’s objective is to ensure visitors have better access to timely, accurate information.
Meanwhile, USTA believes that policymakers should be helped to understand the essential nature of business events for so many of their economic and business priorities. With the support of USTA, the Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance has recently launched the ECA Ambassadors Circle to expand the number of influential industry representatives who are able to promote the positive impact of our sector to more and more policymakers.
The meetings market in the USA is currently very mixed; most domestic events are currently doing very well, whilst some international events are achieving record overseas attendance whilst others are suffering significant downturns. In such an environment, it’s vital to increase the impact of our communication to both potential delegates and influential policymakers.
