From Quest Means Business: “We do get the impression that the beef here is really with the Trump administration, not the American people necessarily.” Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit found that many travelers staying away from the U.S. due to Trump are happy to come once his presidency is over…
From Skift Meetings, by Andrea Doyle: The Trump administration’s tariff policies are sending ripples through global trade, and in the process, they are impacting the global trade show business, said Kai Hattendorf, CEO of HTF Business Events Expertise, and the former CEO of UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry. “If permanent, this isn’t…
From Skift Meetings: Meeting professionals have been navigating a landscape where access, funding, and conference attendance are no longer guaranteed, said Pat Schaumann, president of Schaumann Consulting Group. Schaumann is also the director of Meeting Professional International’s Healthcare Meeting Compliance Certificate (HMCC) program. In 2025, the U.S. was expected to host over 1.5 million medical…
From Smart Meetings: Four years into an experiment to replace an annual spring event in Washington, D.C., with a collaborative concentration of events organizations all gathering in the same place, Business Events Industry Week (BEIW) has built some popular must-attend features and announced that other pieces will shake off, either going away altogether or moving….
From Skift Meetings: As U.S.-Canada tariffs take hold and cross-border meeting attendance dips, one veteran planner is helping associations rethink US-Canada event strategies. Some associations are moving events from the US to Canada, where favorable exchange rates, easier visa processes, and lower costs make it an appealing alternative. As the US dollar weakens under new…
By Kai Hattendorf: 2024 was the best year ever for the trade show industry globally by revenues. 2025 likely won’t be. Uncertainties around an aggressive, tariffs-driven challenge to global trade from the new U.S. administration are shaking markets and economies around the world. If high import tariffs announced by the U.S. administration are here to…
By Michiel Gen, Partner, Stakeholder Management, Exempla Management & Consulting : The recent Insight Update published by ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership highlights the growing pressures faced by U.S.-based professional societies, particularly in healthcare and education. Reductions in federal grants, changes in tax policy and tightening DEI policies are threatening the financial health and…
From PCMA: According to a new Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA) statement, the latest round of proposed tariffs will “increase costs for business and professional event organizers, exhibitors, and attendees alike.”When Convene spoke in December with Tommy Goodwin, vice president of Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA), tariffs imposed on U.S. trading partners didn’t top the…
In recent days, the executive order introducing new reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners has led to significant concern within the U.S. business and professional events industry. These tariffs will increase costs for business and professional event organizers, exhibitors, and attendees alike. They also send a signal to international exhibitors and attendees that the U.S….
From Skift Meetings: President Donald Trump has imposed new tariffs on dozens of nations, including a new 34% tariff on Chinese goods. Many countries have announced countermeasures, escalating trade tensions that could have significant ramifications for the global meetings sector. In response, the Live Events Coalition, originally formed during the Covid crisis but later put…
From AMI: The winds have shifted and optimism has decreased, as a majority of planners say their meetings have been impacted by the new presidential administration. In the latest Meetings Industry PULSE Survey, coproduced and sponsored by Cvent, planner sentiment is clearly shifting. Most planners are less optimistic than they were two months ago, and…
From Skift: Travel is more important than ever to household budgets, but it is not recession proof. As a result, Skift Research is revising down its outlook for global travel. The sweeping new tariffs announced by President Donald Trump have raised the risk of recession and the response from financial markets was swift, with a…
From BBC: As the list of nations issuing travel warnings to the US grows, some visitors are opting to boycott it entirely. Here’s why many foreigners are changing their travel plans and what this could mean for Americans. As President Donald Trump implements sweeping new policies, issues tariffs on longtime allies and leads an immigration…
By Nicola Kastner, CEO of Event Leaders Exchange: Costs are rising. Expectations are not. That gap is one of the biggest risks event professionals face today, and it is not going away anytime soon. This is the third article in my series on the key risks facing the events industry in 2025 and how we,…
From Skift Meetings: The business events industry is pushing back against U.S. tariffs on Chinese-made ships. While policymakers aim to curb China’s maritime influence, industry leaders warn that these measures will increase costs, disrupt supply chains, and ultimately harm American businesses. Several business events industry associations have joined a coalition of more than 300 groups…
From Skift Meetings: The shifting political landscape in the U.S. is casting a shadow over WorldPride 2025, with sponsors pulling out and international travelers facing growing uncertainty. While organizers remain steadfast in their commitment to hosting the global event, concerns over all Pride events are mounting. WorldPride 2025, a three-week celebration in Washington, D.C., May…
Enjoy four days of expert education at IMEX America kicking off on Smart Monday powered by MPI. Our education program allows you to explore the latest topics and trends, level up your professional skills, and find solutions to industry challenges. Whether you want to keep up with fast-changing event trends, explore event tech, polish your…
IMEX America is the largest trade show for the global meetings, events and incentive travel industry. Our award-winning show brings the meetings industry together to do a year’s worth of business under one roof. Suppliers and buyers from every sector of the meetings industry come together at IMEX, held at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino,…
The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) announced today that the U.S. business-to-business (B2B) exhibition industry continues to rebound, recording strong improvement in the fourth quarter of 2024. Tempered performance for completed events – especially in exhibition attendance – set back the Q3 2024 Index value to 89.3 after strong performance in the first two…
Consider EC25 your test kitchen for discovering fresh new concepts, tools, and strategies to tackle the challenges of our industry. Boost your knowledge and expand your perspective with hands-on workshops on diverse topics, location-based learning opportunities, and immersive tours. Strengthen your network with activities and events designed for authentic connection, giving back, and celebration.
By Nicola Kastner, CEO of Event Leaders Exchange: Attendance is not just a number. It reflects engagement, impact, and return on investment. And today, it is at risk. Last week, I published the first of four articles inspired by my recent LinkedIn post, which went viral. In that post, I highlighted several significant risks facing…
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