Concern is mounting within the US events industry that President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, talk of annexation, and shift in policies could cause a drop in international attendance at major conferences and trade shows. Event professionals fear that all signs point to a drop in attendance that could halt the momentum the industry achieved post-pandemic.
As of March, multiple government and medical meetings have been cancelled. Notable examples include:
- Advisory councils for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the National Institute on Drug Abuse; and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities – all tied to the National Institutes of Health
- The Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee focusing on influenza
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel
- The U.S. Department of the Interior’s public meetings regarding its Vineyard Mid-Atlantic offshore wind project
Future gatherings are in the process of being postponed or cancelled and the damage could spill into corporate events. After all, media reports are indicating that leisure travel plans to the United States from Canada and elsewhere are being cancelled.
“It’s on our radar,” acknowledges Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group, which hosts two major international events: IMEX Frankfurt in Germany in May, and IMEX America in November in Las Vegas.
There’s hurt feelings at play—particularly among Canadians upset at talk of their country becoming the “51st state”—that don’t help matters, as multiple factors are affecting travel decisions, according to the US Travel Association.
In a statement to Vendelux, the USTA said: “The travel industry is seeing concerning trends in both domestic and international-inbound travel. We attribute this to a variety of factors, including a strong dollar, long visa wait times, concerns over travel restrictions, a question of America’s welcomeness, a slowing U.S. economy and recent safety concerns. These challenges are real and demand decisive action.”
Costly Considerations
The stakes are high. USTA statistics show travel injected $1.3 trillion into the U.S. economy and supported 15 million jobs across the country in 2024.
Nicola Kastner, CEO of Event Leaders Exchange, is leading a call to action on LinkedIn. She cites the following troubling figures:
- 37% of international arrivals to the US in 2024 came from countries that have since issued travel advisories
- 15.2% drop in international travel below baseline expectations for 2025
- 4.4% YoY decline in Canadian travel to the US in February 2025. Canada is the largest source of international travel to the US (28.2%).
- 670 Visa wait days for Colombia (458 for Mexico, 404 for India)
The unpredictable nature of the situation is adding to angst among veteran event professionals like Wendy Porter, chief events strategist of her own planning firm, Wendy Porter Events, LLC.
“This almost feels worse than COVID to me,” says Porter. “During COVID, we could pivot to virtual. But now, with what’s happening, I’m just seeing corporations either deciding to not do events or just sit on it. They’re just not making decisions.”
In the meantime, attendees scheduled for international events in the United States will have to grapple with the decision to book and hope the conference goes on as scheduled. Also concerning, government workers scheduled to present research are fearful their job will be eliminated or their agency’s funding is cut to the point that an annual gathering is not feasible.
In a Familiar Position
Once again, the events industry is fighting to prove its worth.
Porter, a national board member of the Live Events Coalition, says advocacy is the first step toward reversing course. LEC is currently rebuilding its website to reflect current challenges, according to Porter.
There is also a push to adjust how events are incorporated into The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Current wording scatters facets of meetings and events across at least 20 different NAICS codes while the restaurant industry is covered in a single item. The proposed solution is to modify NAICS Code 70, from only leisure and hospitality to the inclusion of events. Such a change would open doors to relief packages that many event professionals could not obtain when the pandemic struck in 2020, says Porter.
USTA adds that it’s lobbying in the White House and with congressional leaders to facilitate travel to this country.
Global Meetings Industry Day on April 3 is an opportunity to highlight the cause. LEC statistics show that the live events industry contributed roughly $1 trillion to the US economy in 2019, a figure that likely has increased as events have bounced back.
Bauer says IMEX Frankfurt, which had 12,000 participants in 2024, is on pace to set new records this year, which comes at an opportune time for US destinations—many of whom are attending under the Brand USA flag—to clear the air amid uncertainty.
“I think that it is really important for them to promote that they’re open and that they want the attendees to come,” Bauer says.
The IMEX team is closely monitoring the situation and is ready to make adjustments—as it does regularly six months prior to an event, Bauer notes. IMEX America had 5,758 from 75 countries last year, for reference. Should fewer Canadian planners opt to come, Bauer’s team may seek to balance out the loss with additional attendees from other parts of the world, she said.
The current drama adds to what has already been an eventful quarter-century for the industry. Besides the recent pandemic, the Great Recession and 9/11 threatened to derail events but ultimately did not.
“We are a resilient industry,” says Bauer. “We’ve proven that over the past few years. We can keep adapting.”
