DUBAI, UAE, 6 March 2020. Major travel fairs are dropping like flies under the threat of the Covid-19 virus outbreak, but Reed Exhibitions’ says the Arabian Travel Mart (ATM) will run as scheduled 19 to 22 April.
Hosted annually in Dubai, exhibitors will still wonder if this year’s ATM can escape the Covid-19 panic. The outlook appears bleak, and after the ITB Berlin’s last-minute cancellation exhibitors will be wary whatever the assurances given.
Reed Exhibitions in its latest “Covid-19 update posted on its website, 3 March, said it was monitoring the situation carefully and regularly.
“Our current status with regards to the Covid-19 virus remains unchanged; the health and safety of our exhibitors, visitors and staff is our number one priority.”
The mart organiser recommends exhibitors visit the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) website for updates on health restrictions, but it lacks clarity on possible quarantine requirements.
Reed Exhibitions advises exhibitors who fear they might get caught up in an inbound or outbound quarantine situation or are feeling unwell, should reconsider their attendance at the event.
The statement concluded: “We are monitoring the situation very closely and will follow up with participants as the situation develops.”
UAE currently reported just 27 cases, including six professional cyclists who were participating in the UAE Tour. The sporting event has since been cancelled. There have been no fatalities.
On Wednesday, the UAE’s Ministry of Education stated on its Twitter page that all schools and universities would close for four weeks starting from Sunday, 8 March. Schools were due to close for a two-week 29 March.
In addition to closing schools, the UAE is postponing large-scale events, and hotels and airlines are asking staff to take unpaid leave as bookings drop.
Music festivals due to be held in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have been postponed along with an artificial intelligence event that would have attracted 10,000 attendees.
The season’s opening MotoGP in Qatar due to be hosted this weekend has been scrapped along with the second race of the series set for Buriram in Northeast Thailand, later this month.
The Art Dubai exhibition scheduled to be held this month will be postponed. Conferences, concerts and sporting events are a large draw-card for foreign visitors to the UAE.
So will the high-profile Arabian Travel Mart, that is waiting in the wings to open on 19 April, follow the other travel shows and fall victim to the Covid-19 virus? Reed Exhibitions remains hopeful it can pull off a miracle, but that is a sentiment not widely shared.
