ECA Advocacy Update

By Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance

Jan 3, 2025

Smart Brevity® count: 2.5 mins ... 649 words

🎉 Happy New Year from the Exhibitions & Conference Alliance (ECA)!

• 2025 promises to be a very busy year in Washington, DC, and state capitals nationwide, and ECA will be in the middle of it all.

• Please share this ECA Advocacy Update newsletter with others in the industry and encourage them to sign up and stay up to date with the latest policy and advocacy news from ECA.

1 big thing: ECA’s 2025 policy agenda

With the 119th Congress being sworn in later today, ECA announced its 2025 public policy agenda.

The big picture: In 2025, ECA will be focused on policies that will drive the competitiveness of the U.S. business and professional events industry.

Here are ECA’s top 5 priorities for the year ahead:

• Tax reform: Enacting pro-growth, pro-investment, pro-impact, and pro-workforce development federal tax reform. 💸

• State/local tax policy: Prevent harmful state and local tax policies that would unfairly target the industry. 🏦

• Next-generation workforce: Supporting government policies to help attract and train the industry’s future workforce. 👷

• Visa wait times: Continuing to reduce visa wait times while modernizing the visa processing system. 🌎

• Travel bans: Oppose adoption of any U.S. inbound international travel restrictions. 🛬

Our thought bubble: “ECA looks forward to working with policymakers in Washington, DC and nationwide to advance our 2025 public policy priorities. These efforts will strengthen our industry’s competitiveness, continue driving economic growth, support job creation, and empower small businesses across the country for years to come,” said Hervé Sedky, Emerald Holding Inc. President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chair of the ECA board of directors.

Go deeper: Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance Announces 2025 Public Policy Agenda (press release and full agenda).

Thank you to these great industry media outlets for their coverage of ECA’s 2025 public policy priorities:

• Skift Meetings: “What the Business Events Industry Wants From the New Administration.”

• EXHIBITOR: “Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance Announces 2025 Public Policy Agenda.”

2. ECA’s new monthly update calls

Starting next week, ECA will be hosting monthly update calls for industry leaders and advocates including you!

The bottom line: From tax reform to future workforce policy, 2025 will be a critical year for the industry on Capitol Hill and beyond. These calls will give you the latest updates from “Inside the Beltway” and share opportunities for you to get involved when it matters most.

• To register for the ECA monthly stakeholder update calls, click here.

3. Calling all emerging industry leaders

In 2025, ECA invites all emerging leaders to get involved with ECA!

Why it matters: Whether you call them young professionals, rising leaders, or something else, the next generation of industry leaders will be critical to our collective future success, and that includes advocacy engagement.

What’s next: Throughout the year, ECA will create new opportunities for next-gen leaders to get involved and make their voices heard.

• In February, ECA will join the inaugural ESCA Rising Leaders Summit for a conversation with Jeff Quade and Chris Schimek on why advocacy involvement is important for rising leaders.

• Last month, Trade Show Executive’s Andrew Wheeler interviewed ECA’s Tommy Goodwin about how up-and-coming leaders can get involved with ECA as part of its new Young Professionals Corner.

Are you ready to get involved? Visit the ECA Advocacy Network to register your interest today.

• A special thank you to past ECA Vice Chair Mary Pat Heftman for jumpstarting ECA’s emerging leaders outreach efforts!

4. In case you missed it