Event Planners Are Cancelling on Trump-Era Washington. Is This a Sign of Things to Come?

Event Planners Are Cancelling on Trump-Era Washington. Is This a Sign of Things to Come?
DC has lost millions of dollars in events since Trump 2.0 began.

By Michael Schaffer
07/15/2025 10:00 AM EDT


(Politico) Elliott Ferguson, the man who markets Washington to conventioneers, usually spends his days talking up the city’s tourist infrastructure, meeting facilities and business possibilities. But in a recent conversation, he led with a much more troubling data point: The capital has lost 41 upcoming conferences and corporate gatherings since the dawn of Donald Trump’s second term.

“They are making decisions not to come because of new concerns, particularly from international visitors,” Ferguson, the CEO of Destination D.C., said. “It’s budgets, it’s safety, it’s concern about even being able to gain access to the United States.”

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But it also says a lot about changing perceptions of the United States and its capital, a city whose pitch to visitors never used to change much based on who was president. What had been a place of monuments and history is now increasingly viewed from afar as a place where your event could be suddenly canceled by authorities or your keynote speaker could be detained at the airport.

Ferguson — whose organization is still trying to change the minds of groups that have dropped D.C. events — declined to name any names, but said that planners for seven of the canceled meetings had already chosen Washington as their destination before they reversed course; another 34 had taken the capital out of contention. He attributed the drop to two trends: First and foremost, international visitors repelled by America’s unwelcoming reputation, but also domestic ones turned off by the bad vibes around politics and government.

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In fact, the way Ferguson et al are promoting Washington may be the most compelling illustration of the capital’s changed image. The city once lured conferences touting proximity to power or access to national landmarks, effectively throwing its arms around the federal government. But at an industry conference last month in Chicago, Ferguson did the opposite. He spoke out to distinguish the easygoing city from the snarling capital, all in the hopes that it would convince folks to come.

“In Washington there are 535 people that come and make laws and there are 700,000 that live in the city,” Ferguson told reporters. “The fact that so many different people choose to stay in Washington, open restaurants, raise their families and look at us as a global destination — in spite of the federal government — is unique and makes them feel special.” ....................(more)

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/07/15/washington-dc-tourism-economy-conventions-00449496