Day two at IMEX Frankfurt is winding down and the noise levels are going up. This is the time of day when exhibitors turn their stands into mini party zones, hoping to snaffle up any floating business with the promise of local delights, usually, but not exclusively, of the alcoholic variety. Some kind of chanting has broken out on the Taiwan stand next to where I am about to interview Kevin Hinton and as the MD for Group Travel at US Travel Association comes into view, it’s clear he’s going to have to speak up ...

A former president of SITE, the Society of Incentive Travel Executives, and director at association management company SmithBucklin, it’s fair to say Hinton knows the meetings and events sector and how it slots into the wider travel industry. Given media reports about the negative impact of Trump’s second term on both of these spheres, I was expecting to meet someone fitting the description ‘beleaguered’, ‘embattled’ or just ‘broken’.

Instead, he seems calm, relaxed and in a good mood as he waves away my offer to find somewhere quieter to conduct the interview. Noisy trade show floors are a good thing.

Nevertheless, we are meeting at a sensitive moment for US meetings and events, with leaders facing a range of issues from visa restrictions and tightened border controls to perceived attacks on DEI and intellectual freedom. Hinton does not pretend these are phantom concerns, but believes the impact they have had on business events is more nuanced than the headlines suggest.

“2025 was supposed to be a growth year,” he says. “It wasn’t, but it wasn’t a collapse. MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) is essentially flat. Flat is not great. But it’s better than where a lot of us thought we might end up.”

That ‘flatness’ masks diverging trends within the market, however. Domestic demand is up, while international inbound participation has weakened modestly across many sectors. While international travel remains strategically important (delegates from overseas are typically higher spenders), US cities still derive most of their business from within a 250-mile radius.

Hinton cites industry figures showing that MICE grew by around eight per cent year-on-year in 2025, while the US meetings sector broadly held steady. International participation in US events was reportedly down in 18 of the top 20 source markets, although mostly by single-digit percentages.

“There are definitely examples of organisations moving events out of the US or attendees deciding not to travel,” he acknowledges. “But there hasn’t been a deluge of those examples.”

Different cities have been affected differently.

Washington DC has emerged as a flashpoint because of its close association with US politics – ‘people think Washington and they see Trump’ – and some associations who have held meetings in the city have, indeed, seen their delegate numbers hit hard.

Elsewhere, though, it’s business as usual.

The Biotechnology Innovation Organization's 2025 BIO International Convention brought more than 20,000 biotech and life sciences professionals to Boston in June, last year. Significantly, more than four in 10 of the registrants (43 percent) were international, with Korea, Canada, the UK, Japan and China representing the top five countries in attendance, respectively.

It was the second-highest attendance at the BIO Convention since 2007.

Perception/reality

So, what’s going on?

Hinton argues that concerns are often amplified by perception rather than widespread operational problems, and this has become a real challenge for DMOs.

“Last year there were a handful of stories in the media about people not being allowed into the US, and suddenly it became this idea that nobody was being let in,” he says. "That just wasn't the reality on the ground, at all."

Even so, Hinton is aware of the long-term risks if those perceptions don’t change.

“Then we are in danger of losing that competitive advantage, for sure. And that’s why I’m here, to listen to those concerns and work out how we can address them.”

The industry, he says, is now attempting to manage both the practical and reputational challenges facing inbound travel. US Travel Association has been lobbying heavily on issues including visa wait times, border processing and proposed additional visa-related fees.

One controversial proposal, a social media disclosure requirement tied to ESTA travel authorisation, appears unlikely to proceed in its original form following industry backlash.

“We actually got huge feedback on that,” Hinton says. “These are trusted travellers: scientists, executives, association attendees, and people felt very strongly that we shouldn't be putting them in a difficult position."

Strong start to the year

Despite those concerns, Hinton said bookings data for 2026 was encouraging.   

This is a huge year for the US, which is hosting a number of major sporting events, including the FIFA World Cup, and the impact of all this activity on international visitor numbers will be watched closely.

Having spoken with hotel groups, DMOs and convention bureaux, Hinton says many of US Travel Association's members reported ‘exceptionally strong forward pipelines’ in the first quarter.

“One member told us their room nights on the books for the next 18 months were the highest in the history of their business,” he reports.

New infrastructure investment is helping reinforce the country’s long-term competitiveness. Major airport upgrades, convention centre expansions and new hotel development continue across key markets including New York, Austin and Dallas.

Importance of meetings and events

Turning to the industry itself, Hinton believes that face-to-face events are becoming more valuable in an increasingly digital and AI-driven economy, particularly for younger professionals seeking connection and career development.

“There’s this explosion of uncertainty about what’s real and what’s not,” he observes, referencing growing concerns around AI-generated content and digital isolation. “In-person meetings are becoming the antidote to a lot of that. That makes me optimistic.”

He points to research conducted with business executives showing overwhelming agreement that attending meetings and conferences had positively influenced career progression.

At the same time, however, organisers are facing growing pressure to justify the cost and value of attendance. Younger delegates in particular are less willing to tolerate poorly designed networking experiences or low-value conference formats.

“If a meeting underperforms, is it because of the destination, or is it because people didn’t feel they got enough value from it?” Hinton asks. “People have fewer chances now to impress attendees.”

US associations looking outward

The US association sector is also confronting broader structural questions around internationalisation. Many US-based organisations are increasingly rotating conferences globally in order to serve growing overseas memberships. Hinton acknowledged that, in the past, US associations have struggled to adapt programmes successfully for international audiences.

“We’re not always good at this,” he admits. “Sometimes we think we can just export an American event model into another market. We’ve had to step back and say ‘we can’t lead this. If we’re having an event in Europe, we need a local organising team to take care of it.'”

Nevertheless, he believes the long-term outlook for meetings and events remains positive, as organisations seek trusted spaces for collaboration, knowledge-sharing and relationship building.

“People want what this industry provides,” he says. “The value of meeting face-to-face, the ideas, the relationships, the sense of community, that’s becoming more important, not less.”

For now, the message from the US industry appears cautiously optimistic: international perception challenges are real, but the foundations of the meetings market remain strong.

“We have an opportunity, here,” says Hinton, of an industry he feels heavily invested in. “Let’s not screw it up!”