Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance Holds Record-Setting Legislative Action Day

A record-setting group of 226 business and professional events industry leaders and advocates traveled to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., as part of the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance’s annual Legislative Action Day.

Participants traveled from across the United States and around the world to meet with members of Congress about how they can strengthen the business and professional events industry’s ability to create new jobs, reduce economic uncertainty, safeguard affordability for our small businesses and those we serve, and ensure that the U.S. remains the premier global destination for events. Their message: Our industry is a proven engine of economic resilience and growth, and it needs a policy environment to match.

Legislative Action Day focused on three issues from the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance’s 2026 public policy agenda critical to the future of trade shows, conferences, meetings, conventions, and other business and professional events: trade and tariffs, future workforce development and the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) — all central to the industry’s ability to continue serving as a growth engine for entrepreneurs, small businesses and communities nationwide.

“Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance Legislative Action Day is a powerful reminder of what makes our industry so special,” says Fernando Fischer, president of the Americas for RX and chair of the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance board of directors. “Business and professional events bring people together, strengthen small businesses, support jobs and help communities grow. By showing up on Capitol Hill in record numbers, we ensured that our elected officials understand both the impact of our events and the policy choices that will help shape them going forward.”

“In just a few years, Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance Legislative Action Day has become the advocacy event for our industry,” according to Mark Bogdansky, the vice president of trade shows and community engagement for the Auto Care Association, and vice chair of the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance board of directors. “With a who’s who of industry leaders on Capitol Hill today, we sent a clear message: The business and professional events industry is engaged, organized, and ready to work constructively with policymakers to support economic growth, job creation and American competitiveness.”

Beyond Legislative Action Day, the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance provides opportunities for industry leaders and advocates to make their voices heard throughout the year through the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance Advocacy Network, its one-stop policy engagement platform.

“Today proved that everyone in our industry can take action,” says Chris Griffin, president and CEO of Crew XP and treasurer of the ECA Board of Directors. “Whether meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, contacting Congress from home or hosting elected officials on the show floor, the more we all get involved, the greater impact we can have.”