With the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic triggering a tidal wave of event cancellations and rescheduling throughout America, the US Travel Association has so far kept its nerve and is preparing to hold IPW 2020, the leading international inbound US travel trade show, at the end of May.
IPW is scheduled to run from Saturday, 30 May to 3 June 2020 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The US Travel Association anticipates participation by more than 6200 attendees, including 1300 international and domestic travel buyers and 500 journalists representing more than 70 countries, visiting over 1300 exhibitor booths promoting US travel products and destinations.
The situation is fluid and difficulties are mounting. There were 245 cases of the coronavirus disease Covid-19 in Nevada at the start of this week. It has killed four people in the state. Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak has ordered the closure of all non-essential businesses, having declared a state of emergency on 12 March. All gaming facilities in Las Vegas have had to shut their doors. “Non-essential” businesses including casinos, resorts, restaurants, and bars closed on 18 March for a minimum of 30 days.
Covid-19 has infected at least 52,145 Americans and killed 677 of them, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) warning yesterday that the US could become the new epicentre of the pandemic due to a “very large acceleration” in infections there.
The IPW website currently advises that the US Travel Association is “in frequent contact with US government and public health authorities, as well as officials at several US airports, regarding the coronavirus outbreak.
“As you plan for IPW 2020 in Las Vegas, US Travel offers resources to help you stay aware of the latest guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. Neither organization currently advises restricted travel to countries other than mainland China.
“While the immediate risk of this virus to the American public is believed to be low at this time, all travelers are encouraged to exercise healthy habits to prevent germs from spreading:
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- Wash hands often
- Cough into your elbow and sneeze into a tissue
- Stay up to date on vaccinations
- Avoid contact with people who are already sick.”
One reason the baleful power of Covid-19 has made a lot of major American shows cancel or postpone is simply because the grounding of so many flights makes attending a challenge, particularly for international delegates. Australia, for instance, has banned its citizens from flying internationally without extremely good reason.
Next month, the Las Vegas Convention Center was due to host the world’s biggest show dedicated to filmed entertainment – the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention, which attracts more than 100,000 attendees. The NAB convention is now off. NAB president Gordon Smith, told prospective attendees “we are currently considering a number of potential alternatives to create the best possible experience for our community”.
Other planned events to buckle in the face of Covid-19 include EXHIBITORLIVE, scheduled to start in Las Vegas on 29 March and now postponed. The ASD Market Week consumer merchandise trade show, scheduled for 22-25 March at the Las Vegas Convention Center, has been cancelled, as has CinemaCon, which was scheduled to take place at Caesars Palace from 30 March.
According to the Northstar Meetings Group, which monitors such matters, the Digital Signage Expo, scheduled to be held in Las Vegas 31 March–2 April, has been postponed “to late summer or early fall”.
The National Cannabis Risk Management Association has gone up in smoke, postponing its NCRMA 2020 convention, which was to have started a few days ago. The Intimate-apparel trade show Altitude Intimates, scheduled this month in Las Vegas, has been cancelled, as has the NXT Global Summit, which focuses on emerging trends in technology and media. Reed’s security show ISC West, to have been held in Las Vegas, has been postponed from March to July 2020.
Engineering company Aruba Networks’ Atmosphere’20 Las Vegas has been rebranded Atmosphere’20 Digital and is now a purely virtual event. Adobe Summit, the software company’s customer and employee conference (originally scheduled to begin on 29 March in Las Vegas) has done the same, moving entirely online.
The Trump administration postponed the US-ASEAN Summit, which was to have been held in Las Vegas this month. A new date has yet to be set.
According to 8NewsNow Las Vegas, many local casinos are temporarily closed, including all MGM Resorts Las Vegas properties: ARIA, Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Luxor and Excalibur; with no date of reopening set. Wynn and Encore are temporarily closed and expect to open in about a week; Hakkassan Group Venues in Las Vegas are closed until further notice, as are a host of nightclubs, museums, shops, restaurants and cinemas.
Shows are affected: Cirque du Soleil shows; temporary suspensions of O at Bellagio, KA at MGM Grand, The Beatles LOVE at The Mirage, Mystere at Treasure Island, Zumanity at New York-New York, Michael Jackson ONE at Mandalay Bay.
There are two months to run before the start of IPW 2020. These are tough times for America’s entertainment capital, and everyone is wishing the city, and the world, a speedy recovery.
Written by Peter Needham
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