In May 2020, the Events Industry Council formed its APEX Covid-19 Business Recovery Task Force to provide guidance through the pandemic and to support the industry’s recovery. Since its first report last summer on designing safe events, working groups have delivered a series of accepted-practices guides focused on hotels, workforce issues, travel, destinations, and more. The latest report provides resources and best practices to b-to-b and b-to-c exhibition and trade-show organizers.
Like the other accepted-practices guides, the new 40-page e-book is filled with practical resources, links, case studies, and videos. Of note are sections on risk mitigation that looks at venues, service providers, insurance, and budget forecasting; examples of success metrics and key performance indicators for today’s environment; and 65 questions for organizers to ask as they resume in-person events. The questions are aimed at number of key groups: potential exhibitors and attendees, service contractors, venues, and internal stakeholders.
“One of the primary intentions of this resource is to continue fostering the close collaboration that will be key to not only our recovery but to our future,” said the EIC’s CEO Amy Calvert. “When deciding whether an exhibition, trade show, or trade fair can stage an in-person event, organizers must have the data to understand what factors are necessary to foster trust and confidence in the safety of and the value derived from the experience.”
The APEX Covid-19 Business Recovery Task Force Exhibitions Working Group includes:
• Julia Smith, CEM, CTA, GES (Chair), also representing the International
Association of Exhibitions and Events
• Adam Andersen, Informa
• Larry Arnaudet, Exhibition Services & Contractors Association
• Heather Farley, Access Intelligence
• Sandy Harwood, Infectious Diseases Society of America
• Julie Kagy, CEM, Exhibition Services & Contractors Association
• Bob McClintock, ASM Global
• Kristin Mirabal, CMP, DES, VEMM, VEIP, EPIK: Event Experience Design
• Mark Mulligan, IMEX Group
• Yen Tsutsumi, George P. Johnson Experience Marketing
