Cover story
press and with many shows taking dates
in the last quarter of the year, there could
well be bottlenecks and a busy time for all
in the industry as shows try to squeeze in
to this calendar year if possible.
In terms of the events industry’s
own events, the UFI Latin American
Conference has been postponed, with the
association working closely with partners
AOCA and AFIDA to find a new date in
Buenos Aires.
And Latin American MICE show Fiexpo
has also moved its proposed June debut
in Colombia back to November as it
attempts to hold the event in 2020.
Having desperately tried to hold the
line, IMEX Frankfurt was forced to cancel,
however, for 2020.
International Exhibition Association of
India is also seeking new dates for its 10th
annual Open Seminar which had been
due to take place in May.
How organisers are
rescheduling
Mark Parsons of Milan-based Events
Intelligence shares some key findings of
his company’s new Tradeshow Insights
report, research designed to help
organisers understand the aggregate
choices made by event companies
around rescheduling, during the
Covid-19 challenges:
Covid-19 has led to the need to reschedule
a significant number of tradeshows
worldwide for public health reasons.
Restrictions over major public indoor
gatherings and over individual
movement have effectively led to the
deferral all major tradeshows in most
markets.
The choice of a new date is subject to a
complex mix of financial, operational and
tactical decisions about how to make the
best of what is a challenging situation.
The Events Intelligence Tradeshow
Insights report identifies the following
statistics, as at 23 March 2020:
• The ‘consensus view’ of organisers’
rescheduling decisions indicates that
25% are deferring their shows to 2021,
while 48% are confirming a new date in
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk
2020 and 27% have yet to disclose their
decisions.
• When rescheduling in 2020, the average
delay is around 4-5 months after the
original date.
• Over the 10 days to 23 March the
number of impacted events increased by
over 100% from 685 to 1,401. There has
been a lengthening of the average delay,
a greater bias towards rescheduling in Q3
2020 and an increase in the percentage of
organisers choosing to cancel their 2020
editions.
The Tradeshow Insights analysis also
shows:
• 49% of tradeshows have confirmed a
new date within 2020 (down from 54% 10
days ago)
• Just over 25% of events appear to have
cancelled their 2020 edition as a result
of Covid-19 – this increased from 20% 10
days ago.
There is a significant overhang of
tradeshows (377 shows) which have yet
to announce new dates in 2020 or to
confirm cancellation.
Studying rescheduling decisions in
countries where there have been more
than 25 tradeshows rescheduled or
cancelled indicates a range of different
approaches. The decisions made to date
by US organisers appear more cautious
(i.e. cancelling 2020 or not declaring a
new date), than those of organisers in
other countries.
A comparison of rescheduling decisions
from 10 days ago versus decisions
today indicates a greater propensity of
organisers to reschedule their events into
later weeks i.e. after week 33 (12 August –
9 September).
Of those shows which have rescheduled
to date, the typical median delay is 112 days
(up from 105 days on 13 March). The average
increased to 124 days (up from 119 days on
13 March). On average an organiser ‘chooses’
to delay their show by between 4 and 5
months.
The full report can be accessed in pdf format
from Events Intelligence.
Join in the
Mash
Community
forum online
Mash Media has set up a new
online forum, the Mash Community,
which will provide a resource hub
and place of discussion during the
Covid-19 crisis.
The Mash Community is for
eventprofs from all corners of the
events industry. It allows users
to share advice, ask for help, and
search for useful information in the
existing threads.
Current topics up for discussion
include ‘How is Covid-19 affecting
your business?’ and ‘How your trade
bodies can support you’. There are
also threads dedicated to jobseekers
and freelancers looking for advice
and/or work.
Users are free to post their own
topics for discussion.
“Mash Media’s hope is that by
sharing our collective wisdom, and
offering each other a helping hand
in difficult times, we can come out
the other end of Covid-19 stronger
than before,” says Stuart Wood, the
forum curator.
You can access the Mash Community
at www.community.mashmedia.net
Issue 2 2020
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