Six thousand tourists are being held on a cruise ship in Italy over fears that one of the passengers could be infected with the Chinese coronavirus. With over 150 deaths being reported from the Coronavirus Outbreak so far, the Exhibition industry could be severely affected as it operates on human to human interactions. Exhibition Showcase reached out to UFI in this regard and following are the excerpts for our readers;
UFI own events /activities
UFI has postponed the 2020 UFI Asia Pacific Conference & Digital Innovation Forum
“Following the rapid developments around the outbreak of the new coronavirus in China, governance bodies from the World Health Organisation to national, regional, and local authorities have issued and decreed numerous counter measures.Following these guidances, UFI has decided to postpone the 2020 UFI Asia Pacific Conference which was scheduled to be held in Macau on 5-6 March and the Digital Innovation Forum which was scheduled on 4 March. Although we know that this is disappointing, of course, we always put the health and safety of our members and staff first. Like many of you faced with similar decisions, and after discussions with our hosts in Macau, we have opted to postpone both events until later in the year. As soon as we have confirmed the new dates, we will share them with you.“
UFI is moving ahead with the planned educational programmes that are schedules in Macau for late June
“We are preparing to hold UFI’s educational programmes in Macau in June as planned. The fact that we have postponed the Macau conference is based on the current situation. We are hopeful that the outbreak will be under control as soon as possible. Regarding events in Macau in June, there is no need to review or cancel them at the Moment – this is five months away. We will continue to monitor the situation and share developments with those registered regularly.“
What is the impact on the exhibition industry?
“Organisers have begun communicating about show postponements. We see a growing number of these. With Chinese and international authorities very focused on containment, there is a growing consensus amongst the international organisers we are speaking to that this situation will lead to wide spread postponements for shows scheduled in the coming weeks while the current containment measures are in place, as they essentially servely impact the availability of venues, necessary services and movement of people.“
“Organisers of shows elsewhere in the world with Chinese participation are working on health advisories/precautionary processes.”
What does UFI recommend?
“This is a fluent information. We recommend everyone to follow official sources on the situation from institutions like the World Health Organisation and governments.” Some sources we are using include:
– WHO: Daily Situation Report: https://www.who.int/
– US Center for Disease Control: https://www.cdc.gov/
– European Centre for Disease Prevention: https://www.ecdc.
– Travel advisories from national governments
Kai Hattendorf, CEO, UFI
