CEO DATELINE - Companies skip U.S. events due to coronavirus
CEO DATELINE - Companies skip U.S. events due to coronavirus
- February 28, 2020 |
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Walt Williams
Some U.S.-based trade shows and conferences are seeing businesses pull out because of concerns surrounding the coronavirus, although relatively few events have been cancelled entirely.
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One of the hardest hit U.S.-based events has been the Game Developers Conference, which was scheduled for March 16-20 in San Francisco. Microsoft, Sony, Facebook and video games developer Electronic Arts are among the major tech companies that dropped out of the event, which is organized by London-based events and research company Informa. The show's organizers announced Friday they were postponing the event until summer, although a new date has not been set, Business Insider reported. https://bit.ly/2uFri8e
Motorola Solutions announced Thursday that it would skip ISC West, currently scheduled for March 17-20 in Las Vegas. The security industry trade show is produced by Reed Exhibitions, with the Security Industry Association as premier sponsor. Motorola said it would instead host a virtual showcase to show off the company's products, the news site Security Sales & Integration reported.
The show's organizers said that while they regret some companies have pulled out, they plan "a successful, safe and enjoyable event for all attendees and exhibitors." https://bit.ly/2wcxZ1Z
The upcoming South by Southwest media festival—planned for March 12-22 in Austin—has seen a "handful" of cancellations but nothing out of the ordinary, a spokesperson told Rolling Stone magazine. The U.S. has not experienced the wave of event cancellations that has gripped some Asian countries and more recently Europe, with the largest U.S. cancellation so far being Facebook's annual F8 development conference, which was to take place in San Jose, Calif., in May.
The impact of the virus on U.S. events so far has been minimal. The American Association for the Advancement of Science, The Toy Association and International Housewares Association all had Chinese-based attendees and exhibitors miss their recent events because of travel restrictions.
This story has been updated to include the annoucement that the Game Developers Conference had been postponed.