What's happening with IAAPA in the Middle East?

March 10, 2026, 1:42 PM

Here's an interesting thing that I found yesterday.

A colleague and I have been texting about the apparent delay in IAAPA officially canceling its upcoming IAAPA Expo Middle East, which has been scheduled for Match 30 - April 2 in Abu Dhabi. With current travel restrictions, it seems impossible for this event to go forward. After all, the U.S. has ordered its citizens to leave the UAE.

However, the U.S. State Department has not listed the UAE as a
"Level 4" country, to which the federal government advises "Do Not Travel." Instead, the UAE is listed as a Level 3 advisory, "Reconsider Travel" - the same designation that the U.S. has for Tijuana and northern Baja California.

You can see the State Department's international travel advisory map here: https://travelmaps.state.gov/TSGMap/

From my very limited experience with event planning, I recall that a Level 4 designation triggers a whole lot more coverage for insurance cancelations than a Level 3. So I wonder if the State Department's apparent contradiction in ordering evacuations from countries that it has not designated as Level 4 is creating problems for organizations trying to file for insurance claims resulting from not being able to be in or get to the Middle East for business.

I would love to hear from anyone with more information on this. If you do not wish to publish publicly, feel free to reach out privately via email. The link is the "Contact" link at the bottom of the page.

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