CEO DATELINE - NADA, SNAC shift 2021 show formats
CEO DATELINE - NADA, SNAC shift 2021 show formats
- October 12, 2020 |
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Walt Williams
Two more associations are rethinking their 2021 events as the COVID-19 pandemic looks likely to stretch well into next year.
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The National Automobile Dealers Association announced Monday it would hold the NADA Show 2021 as a virtual event instead of a January in-person gathering in New Orleans. At the same time, SNAC International has moved back the date of SNAXPO from March to Aug. 22-24, with the show still planned as an in-person event in Charlotte, N.C.
NADA and SNAC are only the latest in a growing number of associations that are either transforming in-person events scheduled for the first half of 2021 into virtual events or pushing their dates to the latter half of the year. Business travel has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels and medical experts say a vaccine likely won't be developed and widely administered until next spring or summer.
In an Oct. 12 statement, NADA said it had remained hopeful through the pandemic that it could hold the show as an in-person event. However, "a second wave is predicted to coincide with flu season, and, as things stand, public health controls remain too restrictive to allow the show to go forward in person."
The virtual NADA Show 2021 will be held Feb 9-11.
SNAC was forced to cancel the 2020 SNAXPO in March, citing reduced attendance because of business travel restrictions imposed by many companies on their employees. In a statement, SNAC CEO Elizabeth Avery said her group is optimistic "that the public health landscape will look very different in August versus March of 2021."
"Accordingly, our plan is to deliver a safe, meaningful and valuable SNAXPO event," Avery said. "As our planning continues, we will be vigilant in monitoring the public health situation and adjust accordingly to deliver on that promise."
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