As fears of the spread of the coronavirus escalate, around the world, events are being cancelled and postponed at a rapid rate. In Cape Town last week, organisers of an event on African trade and infrastructure finance took the decision to postpone the conference due to increased concerns about the disease. Earlier, the International Association of Ports and Harbours announced it was cancelling its World Ports Conference, which was set to take place in Antwerp, Belgium, from March 17 to 19.One of the largest container shipping conferences, the Transpacific Maritime Conference that takes place annually in Long Beach, California in the US, was also cancelled just before it was due to start on March 1 “due to the situation regarding the spread of the Covid-19 disease”.The International Transpor t Forum has advised that it has cancelled its annual Black Sea Economic Cooperation Conference in Istanbul, Turkey, while several of its international meetings have been postponed due to travel precaution measures.According to Glenton de Kock, CEO of the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry, the unfolding coronavirus crisis is significantly affecting the meetings industry. “While most events continue to be held as planned, albeit with additional precautions and communications, a number of high-profile events, conventions and conferences have been either postponed or cancelled,” he said. “We have seen this with the announcement of IMEX Frankfurt which was due to be held in May, in the last day. South Africa is not immune and we are seeing a similar trend being experienced across the country, with industry players making decisions on a case-by-case basis regarding meetings/conferences being cancelled or postponed to a later date.”Taubie Motlhabane, CEO of the Cape Town International Convention Centre, said all precautions were being taken to ensure the safety of delegates. “Unfortunately we have also been affected by event cancellations and postponements. We also understand the anxiety of event organisers, suppliers and delegates following repor t s of the spread of Cov id-19.”“The industry is taking a mindful approach to cancellation policies as this pandemic was not factored into any planning. It is still random,” De Kock said.
INSERT: A number of high-profile events, conventions and conferences have been either postponed or cancelled.– Glenton de Kock