How Trump-Era Policies Are Hitting the Meetings Industry

Skift Meetings’ just-released survey on the impact of Trump administration policies on the meetings industry revealed that 9 out of 10 planners are concerned about rising costs due to tariffs and the loss of international attendees. Almost a third (29%) have already changed locations due to geopolitical conditions.

Dr. Jessica Levin, COO and regional director, North America, of Abacus Worldwide, an international association of independent accounting, consulting and legal firms, is one of those people. Abacus just moved a global meeting that was planned for North America to Rome due to the current political climate, and concerns related to entry and visa access. “Entry emerged as the most significant concern and the clearest deciding factor,” Levin said.

The decision was made in February, soon after the Trump administration took office and before the RFP process. “We’re confident that we made the right decision, and we remain optimistic about bringing the meeting back to the U.S. in 2027,” she said.

Lindsay Martin-Bilbrey, an event consultant with Nifty Method, reported that some of the attendance at a software user conference next week for which she is a contractor has moved to virtual.

“The international attendees, from Canada to Europe, are overwhelmingly choosing to attend virtually because of concern about safety, visa issues, and how their company’s decision to attend might be perceived publicly,” she said. “We’ve heard everything from worries about border policies and ICE enforcement to nervousness about flying into places like Newark.”

The issue with going virtual is that it retains attendees, but it’s being offered as complimentary or heavily discounted participation, cutting into much-needed revenue. “It’s a Catch-22,” she said.

Cutbacks at government agencies are also having an impact. Moore Style Events CEO David Moore’s core business focuses on biotech and pharmaceutical clients, who are struggling with longer delays from staff cuts at the FDA. “We’ve recently encountered growing concerns from them regarding project timelines. Delays at the FDA have become a significant challenge — what previously took 30, 60, or 90 days is now extending up to six months. These disruptions are slowing progress, leading to event cancellations within the U.S.”

The impact extends to meetings outside the country too, he said: One European association client just held its meeting in Barcelona, even though they faced potential cancellation due to anticipated low attendance from U.S. participants. “Our client opted to move forward anyway, as they were beyond the point of securing a refund.”

Necoya Tyson, founder and CEO of Lightsey Event Solutions, lost a client whose event was canceled due to their title sponsor, a government entity, pulling out in response to the executive order on DEI. “As an independent planner, I’ve lost two clients in just the past year,” she said. 

Other Independent planners and contractors echoed her concern. Contractor Kim King reported that her employer lost half of its contracts, and two-thirds of its contractor employees have been let go. “All of my events and meetings were canceled in 2025 and I cannot plan for future events,” she said.  “I have contract funding for one more month before my position will be eliminated.”

Costs on rooms, transportation, AV, and F&B are up; planners responding to the Skift Meetings survey reported increases of as much as 30% on F&B. Said one anonymous independent planner: “I’m experiencing my worst year ever as a small business owner. Even during Covid, I was able to pivot to virtual. My clients are sitting on decisions, cutting budgets, cutting events, cutting sponsorships, and laying off teams. It’s been devastating to my business.”

The impact is being felt across the entire supply chain, from the associations and corporations hosting the meetings, to the independent planners they hire, all the way down to the suppliers they use, including DMCs.

“I have been doing gig work for a DMC whose primary customers are from Canada, and they have lost most, if not all of their business because of the current Canadian-U.S. relationship,” said contractor Diane Hermann. “The bottom line is that I lost all that work too.”