Comment by JumpCrisscross
5 days ago
> People who attend conferences like this are probably not a representative sample of general arrivals
Business air travel to America was flat in 2025 from 2024 [1][2]. I'm just not seeing any data which support the hypothesis that conference visitation to the U.S. has cratered in general to the point of threatening conference finances. (NTTO stopped breaking out conference visitation after 2019 [3].)
[1] https://assistant.kagi.com/chat/406c2636-106f-400e-a1f8-7011... '25
[2] https://www.trade.gov/feature-article/survey-international-a... '24
[3] https://www.trade.gov/feature-article/2019-overseas-visitati...
Different conferences are likely to attract different audiences. I don't think you can draw the types of conclusions you are drawing based soley on broad trends.
To be clear, i do agree that i don't think there is any evidence either way (nor is it likely we will be able to get any unless the conference organizers release some). The fact that they cancelled just 2 weeks before suggests to me that there are probably deeper management issues, even if lower intnl. travel contributed.
> don't think you can draw the types of conclusions you are drawing based soley on broad trends
Without evidence of exceptionality I think it’s fair to loosely conclude based on broad trends. This conference would have had to have been attracting a disproportionate number of international attendees to be disproportionately impacted. I’m seeing no evidence of that.