Andrea Doyle

President Donald Trump's first 100 days back in office have brought rising costs, declining attendance, and mounting uncertainty to the meetings industry.

Shifting U.S. federal policies are affecting association event attendance, especially among international participants. In response, associations are changing event formats, meeting locations, and contracts amid ongoing uncertainty.

Cvent Connect, one of the meetings industry's flagship events, is heading to Nashville in 2026 after back-to-back years in San Antonio.

The U.S. events industry is sounding the alarm, warning that rising tariffs are already impacting budgets and are threatening to harm business.

Few people can claim to have helped create an entire discipline within the meetings industry. Pat Schaumann is one of them. Her work in healthcare meeting compliance has become the global standard.

With tariff-driven inflation and hidden fees on the rise, event planners are forced to rethink budgets and sourcing strategies. 

Soaring tariffs on Chinese imports are impacting the U.S. promotional products industry, with ripple effects on meetings and conferences. One promotional products company said the U.S.-China trade war is driving small businesses like his into the ground.  

​Trump administration policies are reverberating throughout the scientific and medical meetings space. 

As U.S.-Canada tariffs take hold and cross-border meeting attendance dips, one veteran planner is helping associations rethink U.S.-Canada event strategies. 

As political tensions and logistical hurdles grow, Canadian organizations are weighing their future involvement in American meetings and conventions.