WASHINGTON, DC — Many trade shows are counting on their ability to roll out the red carpet for international contingents, but COVID-19 travel restrictions have had the opposite effect, leading to mass cancellations and reduced revenue.
That’s why trade show organizers welcomed the news today that the Biden administration will ease COVID-19-related international travel restrictions, which will hopefully begin to reverse some of the damage done.
The White House released a statement saying that starting in November, the United States will no longer bar entry to most non-Americans who have traveled to China, India, the United Kingdom, most of Europe, Brazil and other countries in the past 14 days. Instead, those wishing to fly to the United States will simply need to show proof that they are fully vaccinated and have tested negative within the previous three days.
“The news that travel restrictions will be lifted in November is a huge win for the entire trade show ecosystem. From hoteliers to convention centers to every company that supports the creation of a trade show, everyone will be positively impacted. Trade shows are incubators of innovation for American businesses and it’s time to open the floodgates,” said Rick Simon, chairman and CEO of United Service Companies and president of the TSE.
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NAB and the damage caused
The news comes too late to soften the latest blow to the industry, which came when the National Association of Broadcasters canceled its annual NAB trade show, scheduled for Oct. 9-13 in Las Vegas. It’s a significant loss for the city. The last time NAB was in town, in 2019, there were about 90,000 attendees and direct visitor spending was estimated at $91.8 million.
According to Chris Brown, NAB’s executive vice president and general manager of global connections and events, travel restrictions were a major factor in its cancellation.
“One of the great things about the NAB Show is that it is a global event, with nearly 30% of our total registrations typically coming from outside the United States. Unfortunately, under the current circumstances, this is a major factor working against us. It has impacted every aspect of the show, from attendance to exhibitors to speakers to vendors to partners.”
The fact that the NAB Show’s largest exhibitor is based in Australia, a country that is in virtual lockdown, further compounds this risk. “Many of our largest brands are multinational and rely on a workforce that is dispersed around the world. The challenge of getting their employees to the U.S. proved to be a nearly insurmountable obstacle. Some were trying to figure out how they could get people to Canada and Mexico a few weeks in advance to try to get them across the border. The costs associated with that, not to mention the hassle, added up. Beyond that, there were the purely international exhibitors, many of whom held out as long as possible, but with no practical way to get to the U.S., they had no choice but to pull out of the show,” Brown explained.
Does Brown believe that travel restrictions in the US prior to today’s announcement have hampered the trade show industry’s ability to bounce back?
“Objectively, the answer would be yes,” he said. “At the same time, I recognize that we are facing an unprecedented situation and that our government and others must do what is necessary to help contain the virus. All organizations in the events industry understand that we must prioritize health and safety. We do not want to do anything that would perpetuate the perception that events are unsafe. We know they can be managed with the right mitigation strategy, but this virus has surprised us many times before; and we do not want to be part of creating another wave because we reopened prematurely.”
The NAB show was one of many to be impacted by travel restrictions. The NAMM show, the world’s largest annual event for musical instruments and equipment, has postponed its 2022 winter edition at the Anaheim Convention Center from January 20-23 to June 3-5.
“Travel restrictions were one of the reasons many exhibitors began canceling their bookings with us in late July/early August. Corporate travel restrictions as well, which I believe are part and parcel of the government’s restrictions,” said Cindy Sample, NAMM Show Operations Manager. “We are guided by our exhibitors’ ability to attend the show and the public’s ability to attend. With this morning’s announcement of the easing of travel restrictions, we are optimistic that by June, there will be a new level of confidence and clarity in international travel and an ease for our members to come to the United States.”
Industry reacts to the news
There is optimism about the proposed lifting of travel restrictions. “This is certainly good news for the U.S. exhibition industry. More importantly, it’s good news for the U.S. economy,” said Charlie McCurdy, CEO of Informa Markets. “There are many steps being taken to restore disrupted supply chains in America and around the world. Now there is another U.S. trade show, which allows all suppliers, domestic and international, to offer resources to American companies – small, medium and large – looking for balance and growth.”
Bob Priest-Heck, CEO of Freeman, commented on the news: “Business events and the spending they represent are a significant driver of our economy, so today’s news is another – and much-needed – win for our customers, our industry and the economy, as well as our fundamental need as individuals to gather in person. The facts bear this out. Our research shows that attendees at in-person business events are more likely to be vaccinated than the U.S. population, reflecting a vaccination rate of over 80% and creating vaccination coverage that significantly reduces COVID-19 transmission at events, regardless of the size of the gathering.”
Priest-Heck added: “Modeling from our partner Epistemix found that the risk of infection at events was up to eight times lower than in the metropolitan area where they were held. And vaccines are the answer to getting back to the work we love as a Freeman team, to seeing our international colleagues again at conferences and events, and to harnessing the unmatched power of in-person events to drive networking, commerce and innovation.”
Hervé Sedky, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA) and President and CEO of Emerald, issued the following statement in response to the Biden administration’s announcement.
“The members of the Exhibition and Conference Alliance applaud today’s announcement by the Biden Administration and appreciate the Administration’s support for the economy as America’s small businesses rely on our industry to recover. International exhibitors and attendees are critical to the success of the thousands of conferences and trade shows held in the United States each year. Allowing vaccinated individuals to return to the United States is an important step in our industry’s recovery and will help us get our stakeholders safely back to business and back to work across the country,” said Sedky.
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For many, this is the news they have been waiting for.EAST“The latest news on US travel policy and the Biden administration’s announcement of a new travel plan starting in November is certainly a long-awaited update and will help to revive US trade shows. During this period of travel restrictions in the US, this has impacted show organizers’ decisions to move forward as planned, postpone to a later date, or cancel their shows and events altogether,” said Rochelle Richardson, CEM, Senior Vice President of Exhibition and Event Services at AVIXA. “For many trade shows, the impact of international travel restrictions has significantly impacted attendance and exhibitor participation levels. This announcement is great news and comes at a great time for the exhibition and events industry.”
The US Travel Association also responded to the news. “The US Travel Association applauds the Biden administration’s announcement of a roadmap to reopen air travel to vaccinated people around the world, which will help revive the U.S. economy and protect public health. This is a major turning point in managing the virus and will accelerate the recovery of the millions of travel-related jobs that have been lost due to international travel restrictions,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the US Travel Association.
Cherif Moujabber, owner of Creative Expo and Conferences, Inc and an international trade and development consultant, finds the news of the lifting of travel restrictions encouraging, but highlights the bumpy road to recovery that China is on.
“China is very worrying for exhibitors. Air traffic is less than 10% of what it was a few months ago,” Moujabber emphasizes.
He adds that some courtesy may be needed. “There may be some courtesy that needs to be done to start attracting international visitors back to our shows,” Moujabber said. “CES is going to be very important and a lot of people will be watching how they attract international exhibitors and visitors back to their shows.”
Contact Rick Simon at (312) 922-8558 or [email protected]; Charlie McCurdy at +440 20 7017 5000 or [email protected]; Chris Brown at (202) 429-5335 or [email protected]; Cindy Sample at (760) 214-2447 or [email protected]; Bob Priest-Heck at [email protected]; Rochelle Richardson at (703) 273-7200 or [email protected]; Roger Dow at (202) 408-8422 or [email protected]; Cherif Moujabber at [email protected]