The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the events industry. We know it’s unlikely that it will just be “over” and things will “go back to normal.” While it’s disheartening to think of what we’ve lost as an industry, we have the exciting opportunity to build a new and better events model. Once in-person events return, building a hybrid meetings model could position your organization for even greater success.
With major cities starting to reopen and some face-to-face events preparing to get back to business, we’re all seeking guidance on how to slowly and safely resume business as usual. Three leading event industry organizations have released complementary health and safety guidelines to assist show organizers, general service contractors and venue operators in safely planning and producing exhibitions during and following a global health crisis. Take note of these resources:
ASAE has scheduled a virtual American Associations Week 2020 for June 15-18 to build support for much-needed legislative assistance for America’s trade and professional associations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the trade show industry continues to be held in limbo in states that lack clarity around if and when shows could reopen, one of the biggest shows in the U.S. – IMTS 2020 (International Manufacturing Technology Show) – was forced to cancel its September show at McCormick Place.
The unjust killing of Black American George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 by a police officer has sparked nationwide protests over civil injustice. Amid a time when the events industry was already struggling with great change, due to forced event cancellations and reorganization of many companies during the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations are now also questioning their own approach to diversity.
Growth of the exhibition industry plunged more than 15 percent during the first quarter of 2020 during which 72.6 percent of events originally scheduled for the second half of March were canceled, according to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research.
The remaining 27.4 percent of the events were postponed and some of those events may eventually be canceled as well.
Even a pandemic couldn’t stop the exhibitions and events industry from gathering to observe the seventh annual Exhibitions Day, held virtually for the first time on June 3. Instead of a 100-person delegation of event colleagues traveling to Washington, D.C.
The COVID-19 crisis has forced physical events all over the world to go digital for the first time. Tasked with making this approach work, many event organizers are now seeking innovative ways to recreate in-person engagement in a virtual environment.
As the country slowly opens back up for business, plans for safely restarting events are shaping up.
Global DMC Partners, the largest global network of independent destination management companies, has released the results of its most recent Meetings & Events Pulse Survey, which sheds light on the widespread impact the COVID-19 global pandemic has had on the MICE industry.
