South African Tourism supports measures to combat COVID-19

POSTPONE DON’T CANCEL

Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Address to the nation on measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, the Minister of Tourism, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, has confirmed that the tourism industry will play its role in effecting these measures.

Africa’s Travel INDABA postponed

The first measure is to postpone Africa’s Travel INDABA, which was scheduled to take place from 12 to 14 May 2020. This step supports Cabinet’s decision to encourage social distancing by prohibiting gatherings of more than 100 people. Sisa Ntshona, chief executive officer of SA Tourism said, “We are in full support of the Minister’s decision and are duty bound to protect our nation and industry.” South African Tourism, through its National Convention Bureau (NCB), will be contacting participating exhibitors about the postponement. Further, the organisation will consult with the broader industry on workable future dates for INDABA.

The newly instituted travel bans on foreign nationals from high-risk countries, including the cancellation of visas, will have a profound impact on the tourism sector. South African Tourism in conjunction with tourism industry stakeholders will collectively explore measures to ensure the sector’s recovery and to protect the sustainability and attractiveness of travel and tourism going forward. “We appreciate that this is an extremely difficult time for our industry as the repercussions of the virus reverberate through the entire value chain. We should use this opportunity to collaborate to find solutions beyond the current crisis, which will have long-term benefits for our country as a travel destination of choice,” Mr Ntshona said.

On 15 March 2020, President Ramaphosa launched several aggressive measures to limit the spread of the COVID-19 in South Africa, including a prohibition on all gatherings of more than 100 people.

In addition, while small gatherings are not prohibited, meeting organisers are required to take stringent measures to prevent and control the spread of the virus. These prohibitions are particularly hard on the events industry, and it appears likely that they herald the start of a wide-scale shutdown of the events and entertainment sector. In response to these prohibitions, organised industry bodies are calling upon the South Africa government to provide additional support for the event and entertainment sector.

During his address, President Ramaphosa undertook to introduce a comprehensive package of interventions to mitigate the expected impact of the coronavirus on our economy, and to consult with business, labour and other relevant institutions. As organisations active in the events industry we pledge our support for these initiatives and offer our commitment to work with Government and all other stakeholders in addressing this crisis. We also undertake to collaborate with each other in finding solutions that serve our shared interests, as well as the broader communities in which we work. Coronavirus – it’s bigger than us all

Global “G3” Alliance of AIPC, ICCA and UFI aligns around “Our events are open for business” Campaign

AIPC (The International Association of Convention Centres), ICCA (The International Congress and Convention Association) and UFI (The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry) are jointly backing and supporting the industry wide global campaign “This event is/our events are open for business”. The campaign, initially launched on 4 March by UFI and SISO (Society of Independent Show Organizers) highlights the fact that, while numerous events around the world are being postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19, many events are taking place successfully around the world. “While our primary concern now is the health and safety of our staff and customers we also need to keep in mind that the events we host will play a key part in driving the economic recovery to follow, and we are pleased to be collaborating in a campaign and an alliance that emphasises that point” said Aloysius Arlando, president of AIPC. “As part of the G3 Alliance, ICCA sees it as vital that, whilst COVID-19 is causing significant disruption, it is important that we highlight the fact that many events are taking place worldwide and delivering great outcomes for their stakeholders, often adapting their programmes to suit current circumstances. ICCA is very supportive of this campaign and collaboration is more important than ever at this time,” said James Rees, ICCA President.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that, “in dealing with the global coronavirus outbreak, our greatest assets are facts, reason and solidarity. This is what the campaign is about, and this is what makes it great that we will work jointly on this as well,” said Mary Larkin, UFI president. All three associations will continue to share the campaign information with the respective memberships. It is currently available on the campaign website www. supportingevents.org, on ICCA’s website www.iccaworld.org/covid-19/ and on the UFI website www.ufi.org/coronavirus.

UFI releases updated economic impact that COVID-19 is having on trade shows and exhibitions

• €29.2 billion and 320 000 FTE jobs for North America. The backbone of the exhibitions industry are many micro and small enterprises, and the lack of business is putting these at immediate risk of bankruptcy. As the industry’s global trade association, UFI is working with many national associations to help secure government and regional support for the companies that are badly affected. From Hong Kong to Denmark, there have been several examples already of economic relief for our industry. “We call on every government to secure the future of our sector through imminent subsidy and credit programmes. Their investments now will pay off extremely well. We will build and operate the marketplaces and meeting places for all the sectors and industries to meet and do business after the pandemic – our industry provides the fastest of all fast tracks to any economic recovery”, says Hattendorf. No stranger to adaptation, exhibition venues around the world are meanwhile offering their support to the respective health sectors. “Many of our members are supporting the emergency response to the crisis in their respective cities, building temporary shelters and installing beds in case local hospitals are unable to cope with demand. It is always humbling to see how our industry comes together in difficult times,” Mr Hattendorf said. U FI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, released on 20 March an updated global numbers that reflect the impact that trade show postponements and cancellations are having for both the exhibiting companies as well as for the trade show industry around the world. Based on UFI data, the orders that exhibiting companies will not secure will add up to €134.2 billion globally, projecting to the end of the second quarter of 2020. This is an increase of almost 5 times the figure reported the previous week (€23 billion) which took into account cancellations only up to the end of the current quarter. “Right now, the marketplaces that industries rely on to trade are closed around the world. This is unprecedented. Mass closures of events in relation to COVID-19 have now also reached North and South America, meaning the entire global exhibitions and events industry is grinding to a halt”, said Kai Hattendorf, UFI managing director / chief executive officer. Related to the exhibition industry, €81.6 billion of total economic output will not be generated by the end of Q2. Broken down into regions, the respective total economic impact that will not be generated is: • €21.8 billion and 378 000 FTE jobs for Asia/Pacific. • €28.8 billion and 257 000 FTE jobs for Europe.

Africa Travel Week 2020 cancelled

Reed Exhibitions Africa has confirmed that Africa Travel Week, which comprises of World Travel Market Africa and International Luxury Travel Market Africa, due to take place in April this year, has been cancelled following the escalation of COVID-19 Coronavirus around the world. The event will now take place again in 2021.

IMEX Frankfurt cancelled This year’s IMEX in Frankfurt, due to take place 12-14 May, has been cancelled. The organisers have released a statement: “This is not a decision we have taken lightly, and there are two overriding concerns that have caused us to make this decision at this time. “First is the uncertainty caused by the fact that the German health minister called for the ban on events with over 1 000 people. This announcement makes the probability of factors outside our control forcing us to cancel the show at the last minute much higher. “Second, our primary concern is always the responsibility we feel towards our exhibitors and partners, who fund the show – not only by purchasing stand space but also in the considerable additional investment they make in everything from the build of stunning stands to the hosting of buyer events.”