A majority of meeting and event professionals anticipate negative business conditions over the next year, according to MPI’s Q2 2025 Meetings Outlook survey.
Only 31 per cent of respondents in the Q2 report expect favourable conditions this year, the lowest seen in the survey’s 12-year history – even lower than during the COVID pandemic. The negative sentiment hit a high of 57 per cent with 12 per cent remaining neutral.
Between March 31-April 11, the Q2 2025 Meetings Outlook survey received a total of 230 unique responses (53 per cent from suppliers, 47 per cent from planners), a period of time that saw significant volatility in financial markets and geopolitics.
On April 2, U.S. President Trump announced “reciprocal tariffs” for goods from most countries and a 10 per cent tariff on all imports, expanding on the tariffs directed at Canada and Mexico announced during his first day in office (Jan. 20). China, notably, responded to the new tariffs by announcing new tariffs of their own on U.S. goods. In the following days, financial markets worldwide experienced severe volatility, with many stock exchanges seeing the greatest selloffs since the start of the pandemic in 2020. On April 9, Trump announced a 90-day pause on the “reciprocal tariffs,” reversing many market downturns from the previous days.
These abrupt shifts has caused significant uncertainty, resulting in nearly instant ups and downs felt around the globe, disrupting myriad aspects of the event business.
A majority of event professionals are experiencing significant negative impacts on their business due to the recent U.S. executive orders and policy changes.
Three-quarters (75 per cent) of survey respondents said these actions are already having a negative impact on their business. In fact, 62 per cent of respondents report only negative effects.
And, for most, these negative effects aren’t minor: 76 per cent of affected respondents labelled the severity of these impacts as “very significant” or “moderately significant.”
Respondents made it clear that the negative impacts on their businesses aren’t limited to tariffs. U.S. actions over the past few months relating to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); LGBTQ+ rights; immigration and other issues are also impacting the business of many event professionals. The negative effects reported are wide ranging, including existential uncertainty; cost increases; funding cuts; immigration detention, arrest or deportation; speakers, attendees and exhibitors unable or unwilling to travel; and more.
The full MPI outlook will be published later in May.
