The Corporate Event Marketing Association had planned on providing attendees with a true Nashville experience as part of CEMA Summit 2020, which was to be held July 27-28 at JW Marriott Nashville.

Event and tourism industry professionals aren’t about to sit out this pandemic, as evidenced by the number of meetings, webinars and conventions taking place virtually these past few months. Among these key industry events is Destinations International’s Annual Convention, which was held virtually for the first time July 14-15. 

PCMA last week released “Business Events Compass,” an actionable framework of insights and strategies for business event professionals and their business partners to guide their careers and businesses during the pandemic and beyond. 

The PCMA Foundation-funded service and inaugural report provides research-based insights on geographic and industry sector business events recovery opportunities, as well as recommendations for the evolution of participant engagement, business models and expected reskilling needs.

Held July 14-15, EventWell Digital Summit 2020 — the first mental health and wellbeing summit designed specifically for the event industry — went really well, according to Helen Moon, CEO and founder of London-based EventWell, which organized the event. Moon says feedback from attendees and speakers has been wonderful, and that she saw consistent engagement through the Q&A portions of the event.

Orange County Convention Center in Orlando is getting back to business safely by welcoming a trade show and conference designed to help the live events industry do the same. 

Set for July 24, the Together Again Expo will offer attendees and suppliers the opportunity to learn about new industry best practices, strategies and tools for safely and responsibly reopening live events, conventions and trade shows. 

As exhibitions and events grapple with how they are going to lay out their exhibit floors, meeting rooms and banquet areas, The Expo Group released a Crowd Density Calculator that can be used by anyone seeking to better understand their attendee-to-square-footage capacity.

A free widget also has made available to the industry.

The road back to hosting live events is hitting speed bumps, according to a recent survey conducted by New York City-based Engine Insights.

The immediate impact of COVID-19 has been dramatic for the meetings and events industry. However, a new international survey of 500 senior B2B marketers conducted by Space Global Strategy, a London-based strategy and M&A advisory firm, shows there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Although the travel restrictions and continued fear surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a rise in virtual events, the desire for face-to-face meetings and incentives has not decreased. This is among the key findings from the Q2 Meetings & Events Pulse Survey recently conducted by Global DMC Partners (GDP).

The first facilities to earn the new GBAC STAR accreditation from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council, a division of ISSA—The Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association, are scheduled to be announced by the end of June. To achieve accreditation, applicants must demonstrate compliance with the program’s 20 elements covering cleaning, disinfecting and infectious disease prevention.