When the news of the first cancellation reached our office, we were in shock. Mobil World Congress, scheduled to take place in Barcelona at the end of February was cancelled just weeks before. We were stunned and at that time thought they might have been over-reacting. All of a sudden, within weeks, news of more cancellations spread and soon enough, our office was directly affected.

According to M & A, a German trade fair publication, as of April 23^rd, 454 trade shows in Germany have been cancelled or postponed. The cost is estimated to be near 3 billion Euros. Worldwide 2,458 trade shows have been cancelled or postponed and more cancellations follow every day. Germany has prohibited exhibitions from taking place through August 2020. According to the Ifo-Institute, exhibitions bring in 28 billion Euros in revenue annually in Germany. Just this week it was announced the Oktoberfest in Munich was cancelled. And while you cannot compare the Oktoberfest with a professional trade show, the last time the Oktoberfest was cancelled was World War II.

The cancellation of trade shows not only affects the organizer, but every company that works with them. The booth builders, caterers, cleaners, electricians, interpreters, hostesses, freight forwarders, travel agents, the list goes on and on. And, of course, we can’t forget the impact on the cities themselves – hotels, taxis, restaurants, airports, airlines, here again, the list goes on and on.  Without a doubt, not all companies can survive this. The smaller ones may have to close their doors forever, while others may be lucky or have federal help.

It would stand to reason that until a vaccine is found, the trade show business cannot go back to the previous “normal”. However, the show must go on and project management teams are re-thinking the traditional show concept and coming up with ways to hold a show in this environment.
Solutions range from wider aisles, limited attendance per day, evenly spaced booths, masks and other options that are being discussed. With this in mind, how do-able is it to ask visitors and exhibitors to wear a mask while walking or working the shows?  Even if trade shows were to open now, airline travel is restricted which would most likely lead to a lack of international attendance. Maybe offering a certain kind of virtual show could support businesses still being able to “meet” and do business in these complicated times. While virtual shows will never replace the value of face to face contact, they might be helpful to bridge the time until “real” trade shows can take place again.

We’ll see what the future holds. No one knows when a cure will be found or when it will be safe to open the world back up. But eventually businesses will open back up, people will again be able to safely hug one another, travelers will get on planes again, masks will be thrown out and life will go back to normal. We’ve done it before after 9/11 and we’ll do it this time too.

We look forward to seeing you all again at one of our many trade shows. Until then, stay Safe!