Should you attend, postpone or cancel your next Trade Show given the Coronavirus Pandemic?

Sadly, the coronavirus pandemic has killed over 2000 people to date in China and has leaped into 26 more countries in just seven weeks.

Over two dozen large trade fairs and industry conferences in China and overseas have been postponed or cancelled due to travel curbs and concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, disrupting billions of dollars’ worth of deals.

In Spain, the decision was made 10 days ago to cancel the world's largest mobile event: The Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade show in Barcelona scheduled to run from February 24th to the 27th. The GSMA, which organises the event, is discussing MWC Shanghai and MWC Los Angeles both of which are due to be held later this year.

The GSMA, the city of Barcelona and the country of Spain will take a huge financial hit from the cancellation of the 2020 MWC but the top priority was the health of employees and attendees, not the reputation of the MWC show nor the financial loss.

According to Bloomberg, the GSMA is asking tech and telecom firms for help to soften the blow. Over 2400 manufacturers bought booths and spent millions of dollars to present their wares during the show to help promote their devices, accessories, and other products in front of 100,000 attendees. Visitors spent the equivalent of $872 USD for a basic admissions ticket. Around 28,000 rooms had been reserved for the MWC conference, and according to Hosteltur, hoteliers will lose business totalling approximately 112.4 million euros ($121.5 million). 

In recent days, many attendees have expressed their negative feelings on social media. Not only have they lost time preparing for the event, but it isn't clear what purchases qualify for a refund and whether these refunds will actually be made.

Attendees hoping to claim back some of the expenses shouldn’t expect much. They will most likely find that the fine print of their hotel and travel insurance policies will include phrases such as “non-refundable,” “cancellation policies offered when booking was made,” and “force majeure”. Those unplanned circumstances like, terrorist attacks and acts of nature that allow airlines, hotels and even the GSMA to cancel events and contracts—make clear there's little room for negotiating.

Now, with the threat of the Coronavirus, many attendees and exhibitors are waiting before booking their travel to their next event. This is an exceptional situation which hopefully will be over soon. However, as an attendee or an exhibitor preparing for a forthcoming Trade Show, what should you consider given the Coronavirus outbreak? Do you cancel your plans now, wait and see or do you go?

According to the CDC website, the immediate risk of this virus to the American public is believed to be low at this time (as of February 11, 2020).

Nevertheless, if that were to change or if you are planning to attend Trade Shows then additional measures would need to be taken to keep yourself and your team safe.

Here are some advice to keep in mind as you plan your business travels:

1.   If you are concerned about the Coronavirus in your destination country, visit the hosting country Coronavirus page for more information.

2.   Stay as healthy as possible. Eat healthy and stay hydrated.

3.   Take Supplements that help fight off colds like Zinc and vitamin C. 70 – 80% of your immune system is in your gut (Johns Hopkins). So, it is essential to keep a healthy diet and supplement it with vitamins that fend off any illness.

4.   Washing your hands often and vigorously with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds is highly recommended by the OSHA

5.   Sleep as much as you can. Proper rest is crucial for your body to be able to defend yourself against flu, colds and some viruses. So, as soon as you are finished with your prospects or daily tasks at the Trade Show, go back to your room and rest.

6.   Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth. Use clean face wipes when touching your eyes, nose and mouth and immediately throw them away in a contained bin.

7.   Move at least 3 metres away from anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as a cough or sneezing.

8.   Purchase and keep with you at all times face masks if you travel in a high-risk area.

9.   Avoid all non-essential travel to China.

10.Strongly encourage sick employees to stay home.

11.Review information for businesses provided by the CDC or by other organisations in your country.

12.Consider getting a flu shot if you haven’t done so already. 

13.If you think that you might have been in contact with someone infected with the Coronavirus contact your doctor and tell them about the circumstances and any symptoms you may have.

14.In your exhibit, regularly disinfect frequently touched surfaces with wipes & sprays.

15.Have plenty of tissues to give away to your team and attendees. Have several contained bins.

16.Keep hand sanitiser readily available for protecting yourself between hand washings.

17.Cough in your elbow or a tissue, not in your hands. Clean your hands afterwards.

18.If you are hosting an event, inform your attendees about any measures you are taking to keep them safe (hand sanitisers, temperature tracking, screening for any upper respiratory illness…).

19.The World Health Organization recommends to keep a 3-foot distance between yourself and other people. It is also wise to keep a distance of 3 metres with anyone who is coughing, sneezing or has a fever.

20.Before travelling, encourage your team to watch the video they have on their site on how to protect yourself.

21.Avoid eating raw or undercooked animal products and handle these items with care to avoid cross-contamination.

Finally, whilst you might be the owner, manager or in a position to influence your exhibit staff, would you really want to take the sole responsibility of your exhibit staff attendance at an event? It is probably best to have an open discussion with the event’ stakeholders about whether re-scheduling an event or not attending is an option for you and your business. If a team member is apprehensive about traveling you may want to give them the option to have someone else travel in their place, especially if they are feeling sick. At the end of the day, if they don’t have the right mindset for the job, they won’t deliver a successful Trade Show.

Just as an extra, it might also be useful for you to review The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry recommendations .

So, if you are an exhibitor or a visitor do you have an emergency plan in place for such exceptional situations? Have you consulted your team? Do you have proper insurances in place? Does your booth-staff know what to do?’ Make sure you are positioning your organisation’s event program for success!

After thirty years and tons of research, I believe it is so important to ensure that trade exhibitions are understood and used to leverage long terms client’s relations and ultimately business growth.

To know more about Luxury Business Connections please visit our website