2025 Legislative Action Day for the Trade Show and Convention Industry

With so many pressing issues facing the trade show and meetings industry, such as tax reform, a new generation workforce, inbound travel restrictions and decarbonisation, it's time to make your voice heard at the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance's (ECA) Legislative Action Day 2025! It's time. The event will take place on 29 May 2025 in Washington DC, USA.

The Expo & Convention Alliance's (ECA) Legislative Day of Action is held annually to bring together leaders and advocates in the business and professional events industry to Capitol Hill to meet with elected officials in support of the Expo & Convention Alliance's (ECA) top public policy priorities. Founded in 2021 during the New Crown Epidemic, the Expo & Convention Alliance (ECA) is a coalition of leading professional and trade associations representing a unified advocacy voice for the business and professional events industry.

In 2025, the event will feature exclusive Trade Show Talk podcast coverage, with host Danica Tormohlen conducting live interviews with key industry leaders, advocates and policymakers from ECA's on-site headquarters. Listeners will be able to learn first-hand about the policy discussions shaping the future of the trade show and meetings industry.

At last year's Legislative Action Day, more than 130 business events industry leaders and advocates from 25 states and around the globe travelled to Washington, D.C., to meet with policymakers and discuss the issues that matter most to the business events industry.

THIS YEAR'S HIGHLIGHTS: The Expo & Convention Alliance's (ECA) public policy agenda will focus on five key areas:

Enhancing competitiveness through growth-oriented tax policy.

Creating new workforce pathways to ensure industry competitiveness.

Growing international travel to enhance U.S. global competitiveness.

Gain long-term competitive advantage with smart decarbonisation.

Supporting future growth through a competitive operating environment.

This year's Legislative Action Day will focus on tax reform and workforce development, which ECA Vice President Tommy Goodwin highlighted as the topics Congress is most likely to move forward and achieve results on this year.

ECA's Legislative Action Day will be held in conjunction with two other industry events - the Lippman Connects Exhibit and Conference Executive Forum (ECEF), which will take place on 28 May at the Washington Convention Center; and an executive roundtable with mdg, a Freeman company, which will take place on 27 May.

As part of its ongoing efforts to support the advocacy engagement of future leaders in the events industry, ECA is partnering with the George Washington University School of Business to welcome MBA students enrolled in Dr. Stuart Levy's course, ‘The Art and Practice of Business-Government Relationships: Advocacy in the Events Industry,’ to participate in this year's Legislative Action Day.

Tommy Goodwin, Vice President, ECA: "From tax reform to workforce development, 2025 has become a critical year for the industry in our nation's capital. That's why everyone in the industry needs to plan to attend ECA's Legislative Action Day in May."

Sam Lippman, ECEF Producer, "Every one of ECEF's 200+ leaders has a huge stake in the success of the Legislative Action Day. We are proud to be a platinum sponsor of the event and encourage our community to get involved."

Kimberly Hardcastle, President of mdg: "We are thrilled to kick off such an important week with a guided dialogue about the critical role of vision in long-term campaign and portfolio planning. Legislative Advocacy Day will serve as the perfect complement to this dialogue because industry professionals will be more likely to achieve their vision if our elected officials are committed to improving the business environment in which we live."

Dr. Stuart Levy, Associate Professor, George Washington University School of Business:"Our students and I are grateful for the opportunity to participate in ECA's Legislative Action Day and we look forward to contributing to its success. The highlights of this course will benefit students by engaging them deeply in the advocacy process while enhancing their communication and interpersonal skills."