CHAOS or OPPORTUNITY: Another Tipping Point for Business Events?

Welcome to Issue #120 of Business Events World from The Iceberg presented by the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) as the chaos of trust and tariffs continue to re-shape the world’s economic future.

Author and political commentator Tim Marshall had long foreseen the redrawing of the lines away from the East-West paradigm in his books titled Prisoners of Geography and The Power of Geography.

His map of the future geopolitical power structures, the reasons for which extend to climate change, intellectual capitalism, and the increasing influence of states beyond the established superpowers of the eighties and noughties, has accelerated before our very eyes – and notably so in light of Trump 2.0’s first 100 days.

It’s hugely disruptive, and much of the sector’s news and commentary over the past month centres on the immediate impacts of tariff and border control uncertainties causing countries and businesses to re-think who – and where – their trading futures lie.

The same is true for knowledge workers, researchers, investors, and entrepreneurs re-assessing pastures new.

Already news of U.S scientists and researchers using events to establish links to opportunities outside of the U.S is filtering through, while Trump pursues the repatriation of a low-paid inbound manufacturing economy passing them in the opposite direction.

This will surely create opportunity for the sector in the longer term.

The immediate impacts on the Business Events Sector have however, especially in the U.S, been negative with events cancelled and/or attendances prohibited, denied, or declined – leaving travel & tourism, at least, in tatters.

This level of disruption, The Iceberg predicts, will not last long as the Trump administration yields to the U.S bond market and a degree of sense and sensibility is restored.
But for now, lean on the side of chaos.

The resulting change in the geography of the world’s future knowledge and creative economies will mean change on a scale never previously witnessed in most of our lifetimes, as the relocation of financial and intellectual capital demands trust between a new set of trading partners, new supply chains, and emerging talent – something that we can safely conclude can only be delivered through face-to-face engagement.

For a movement dedicated to ensuring that the role of business events in facilitating these changes is recognised, The Iceberg time for many voices, one message articulating the role of business & professional events as the gateways to personal, organisational, and political ambition – has come.

So, on your way to IMEX, take in the latest news, views, and opinions shared by the sector’s leading voices, enjoy the latest storytelling, and be ready to share among policymakers at home or with those attending either of ICCA’s Plenary & Global Advocacy Alliance Meeting, or IMEX Policy Forum, in Frankfurt.

But spare a thought for the victims of the shifting sands of geopolitical uncertainty – notably within the US and, of course, their vital PCOs and other supply chains.

And remember to Hug an American!

In Features, South Australia pursues intellectual capitalism in green energy, Head of Business Events Adelaide, Damien Kitto, shares the role of the Asia Pacific International Mining Symposium & Exhibition (AIMEX) from 2025-2033. A reminder of how the DMO role is transcending all government departments beyond those of just Tourism. (You can see an example in Publications: see Ireland’s Business Events Strategy.)

Staying on the pathway to sustainable destination development, how the grown-ups approach event impact with an introduction to The Gothenburg Way to Legacy – another illustration of how business (and other) events are supporting the 3 pillars of economic, social, and environmental sustainability through the prism of the 7-time winning city of the GDS Award for Leadership.

Also in Features, PCMA Convene’s Michelle Russell, Skift’s Andrea Doyle and former UFI CEO, Kai Hattendorf, assess the 100-day sector impact of tariff and trade wars waged by President Trump. The Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA), led by Iceberg Ambassador Tommy Goodwin, fights back with its Tariff Resource Centre, J T Long reports from Business Events Industry Week in Goodwin’s hometown of Washington DC for Smart Meetings, ICCA and BestCities offer tips for crafting a winning entry to the coveted Incredible Impact Awards, and CityDNA President, Barbara Jamison-Woods, uses Beyond Boundaries: The CityDNA International Conference in Budapest to “expand our role as DMO’s – not only marketing our cities but managing them as thriving, inclusive, and resilient places for visitors and residents alike”.

In News, Travel Weekly share the Skift story of how The White House intervened to sack 5 of the Brand USA Board including its chair, Elliott Ferguson, the outstanding CEO at Destination DC.

Skift’s continued rise to mainstream media continued with Editor-in-Chief, Sarah Kopit, featuring on CNN’s Quest Means Business with news of the dramatic reluctance of European visitors to travel to the U.S. “The world is angry,” she said in the interview, “Donald Trump and his administration ran on an America First policy and we’re seeing right now what that means in practise – at the border!”

But the most worrying report came courtesy of James Lancaster at The Iceberg Global Media partner, Northstar Meetings’ AMI magazine, when sharing The Irish Examiner news that academics are cancelling planned conferences and seminars in the US because of the risk of harassment and interrogation by immigration officials. This is an unwelcome sequel to Lancaster’s sharing of The Guardian report of a French space scientist held, and subsequently deported, while attempting to attend a conference in Houston for, allegedly, hurty words found on an electronic device – see #119 of Business Events World.

Skift’s Doyle reports on the Live Events Coalition efforts to pressure lawmakers into supporting the Trade Review Act of 2025 that would shift tariff decision-making power to Congress but currently remains stalled in Committee.

The Coalition is calling for more industry support via 5calls.org and callscripts.

Also in News, The Business of Events (TBoE) chief storyteller, Mike Fletcher, brings home the message that impact is the future from the 2025 edition of the VisitBritain Business Events Association Conference. Less optimistic, AMI magazine reports, will be VisitBritain itself, as budgets are slashed the very same day as TBoE held its Global Policy Forum in London attended by UK tourism minister, Chris Bryant, who reminded VisitBritain that a third of the visitor economy is driven by business events – many of whom subsequently choose to invest in the UK…

If there were a Ministry for Crass Timing, Bryant may want to consider applying…

Never trust a politician.

IAPCO’s immediate past president, Sarah Markey-Hamm, asks for the storytelling of collaborations which enjoy a source code from a conference leading to a Nobel Prize for Science – to be told.

ICCA and ASAE renew their vows.

In exhibitions, Reuters reveals that ‘At China’s largest trade fair, exporters say US markets are ‘frozen’ and TSNN reports on Hyve’s latest, and some say bold, acquisition from Connectiv Holdings of Manifest – the global event for the supply chain and logistics sector.

NBC News reports Suzanne Neufang, CEO of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) stating that “the big word is uncertainty” as U.S Policy swings have upended what was a sunny outlook for the $1 trillion global industry just months ago – and there’s more as various surveys and travel data filter through – in Research.

In Case Studies, two video reports; Growing Grumpy Gracefully with HIV Glasgow – the drug therapy conference shows what can be done to develop a circular economy with the profits of a non-for-profit event, and ISPIM ‘Spawns a Generation of African Engineers’ as the innovation management roadshow hits the townships of Cape Town.

The GDS-Movement partners #MEET4IMPACT to share ‘Four Powerful Examples of Sustainability in Action’.

In Research, a reminder of life before Trump as the Events Industry Council (EIC) shares its Q4 Barometer Report which reveals the state of play before the Orange Man cometh.

IAPCO shares the sector’s reverse in sentiment through the lens of its Global Socio-Political Impact Survey of 2025 Report with 25% of respondents having to cancel, postpone, or relocate events due to safety concerns and instability, 26% of respondents experiencing losses of up to $50K and 15% of losses greater than $150K. The 2 biggest government policies affecting delegate attendance were Visa & Immigration (64%) and Funding Cuts (59%) that impact, especially, academic and scientific delegates’ ability to attend.

Northstar and Cvent share an equally depressing Incentive PULSE Survey, ASAE reveals that the decline in international participation at its member events is sharpest from Canada, Europe, and Central Asia, and Corporate Travel is in Retreat reports Business Traveler as GBTA suggests a potential 21% decline.

Wherever the data, the story is grim.

In Opinions, Peter King & Co from the Australian Business Events Association (ABEA) and the blueprint for advocacy. Is the Australian model replicable elsewhere?

Destinations International’s Jane Cunningham highlights the pivotal shift in destination management towards community engagement, the Centre for Events & Festivals (CEF) – a new academic forum supporting events advocacy with an industry board featuring Genevieve Leclerc of #MEET4IMPACT – is bringing intellectual rigour and talent to the movement. “Legacy isn’t what’s left behind – it’s what’s strategically built from the beginning” claims Dr. Holger Preuss and the CEF’s Founder, Dr. Mike Duignan, in a feature piece.

Skift’s Doyle, worthy of an Iceberg season ticket this issue, returns to offer solace in light of the 90-day tariff truce, Boardroom magazine shares TePae Christchurch’s Ross Steele on why sustainability is good for business, Tradeshow Talk’s Danica Tormohlen navigates the future with UFI’s Chris Skeith OBE, PCMA chair and head of VisitScotland Business Events, Neil Brownlee, warns against over-reacting to Trump’s disruptive narcissism in The Meeting Room, chief changemaker at the GDS-Movement, Guy Bigwood, returns from Prolight + Sound (an entertainment tech, AV, sound and light show) to share what organisers and venues can learn about sustainability from the AV sector, while Iceberg Ambassador, Anna Look, launches her Association Event Insider video series with a visit from DELARO Pty’s Director, Rodney Cox.

These and the world’s leading news, views, tips and tricks to fight the good fight are yours to share. Until IMEX – see you there!

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