As the build-up toward the U.S. general election starts to hit a fever pitch, it’s important to remember how some of the policy issues in play could impact the meetings industry in 2025 and beyond. Here are a few of the issues that meeting and event professionals should consider before going to the ballot box, whatever their political affiliation may be.

Democrats, Republicans and independents all are sifting through the reams of political ads, position papers and policy statements of those running for office in the general election to determine how the candidates’ ideas could affect their daily lives. Since most people of voting age spend a good chunk of those daily lives at work, it’s important to also consider how key policy issues could affect their industry.

For those in the meetings, events and hospitality realms, the presidential and down-ticket candidates’ stances on several issues could provide challenges and/or opportunities for the meetings industry.

As Tommy Goodwin, vice president of the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA), said, “What happens at the ballot box this November will help shape the direction of the business events industry in 2025 and beyond. That’s why we need everyone in the industry to get involved.” The ECA recently launched a non-partisan initiative called ECA Votes to educate planners on four key policy issues that could be in play, as well as an easy way to register to vote right on the site, thanks to a partnership with Vote.org.

Here are some of the top policy issues in play during the November general elections that potentially could impact the meetings industry:

• Climate change and sustainability. With the devastation from Hurricane Helene still being assessed, the practical implications of increasingly extreme weather events — including causing force majeure meeting cancellations — are an unwelcome reality both parties have to consider in everything from their environmental policies to insurance regulations. This is one of the four policy issues ECA has on its watch list, as the two presidential candidates have “very different sustainability agendas,” says the ECA. Democrats are seeking to increase federal regulation and Republicans seeking to decrease federal regulation, leaving it more up to the states to put their own regulations in place, according to the ECA.

• Hot-button state laws. Speaking of leaving it up to the states to put their own laws in place, many have done just that in recent years, especially when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights and women’s reproductive health. Some of these state laws have caused a backlash in the meetings industry, and some organizations have had to move their meetings to another destination to align with their attendees’ or organizations’ stances on the issues. While there is a push within the meetings industry to counter that reaction — not only are bans and boycotts not terribly effective in advancing political change, but they also tend to punish local hospitality workers, not policy-makers — this is an ongoing challenge that could be affected down the road by the election results.

• Tax reform. With the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act scheduled to expire in 2025, “Everything in the tax code is on the table,” ECA says on its website, naming this another of its top policy priorities. What does this have to do with meetings and events? In addition to having the potential to revise how private equity profits are taxed and raising corporate tax rates, the ECA raises the possibility of taxes being imposed on association events.

• International travel. While there has been some improvements on pandemic-era visa delays and travel restrictions — ECA helped to secure $50 million in March to help reduce visa backlogs — there still is a way to go to ease the process of obtaining a visa for international exhibitors and attendees to U.S.-based shows. Whichever party ends up in the Oval office and in the majority in Congress, there’s still much work to be done to make it easier for potential exhibitors and attendees from Mexico, India and other countries, who now are waiting more than a year to get a first-time visa interview, to attend U.S.-based shows. Also potentially in play could be restrictions that prevent travelers from specific countries from entering the U.S. to attend a meeting or event.

• Fee transparency. The bipartisan No Hidden Fees Act, a legislative priority for industry associations including the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) that was passed by the House this summer, is designed to establish a single, comprehensive standard for transparent and mandatory fee displays across the lodging industry. The Senate version of the bill — the Hotel Fees Transparency Act (S. 2498) from Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan. — would establish a single standard for mandatory fee display across the entire lodging ecosystem. While it would seem to be on a positive trajectory toward passing, the fate of this act also could depend on the priorities and policies of those who win in the general election, both on the state and federal levels.

• Future workforce. Another of the few areas of bipartisan agreement is that the government needs to do more to close the skills gap for the next generation of skilled workers and provide the training and credentials the next generation needs to succeed in thriving in good-paying jobs in meetings and hospitality, according to the ECA.

The ECA is holding a series of webinars, the first of which took place Oct. 15. There will be another on Oct. 29, with a post-election follow-up on Nov. 12 to provide a more in-depth look at the ECA’s four policy priorities — sustainability, tax reform, future workforce and international travel — and how they could impact the industry’s policy priorities in 2025 and beyond.