Meetings in Seattle are about to be back in business. Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has modified the state’s Phase 2 and Phase 3 restrictions around business meetings, professional development training and testing, and similar activities, effective Sept. 21.

While there has been an understandable drop in new and renewed business deals in the trade show industry lately, there have been some bright spots, particularly in the virtual space. Here are a few companies continuing to forge ahead as they prepare for a post-COVID-19 business future.

Last week PCMA announced the next steps in its global business events industry recovery plan, Recovery Discovery, at a series of digital broadcasts in Asia Pacific, EMEA and the Americas late last week.

IBTM World 2020, part of Reed Travel Exhibitions, will transition to a virtual event this year. Originally scheduled for Dec. 1-3 in Barcelona, the in-person component of the event will not take place as planned. This decision was made by show officials in close consultation with partners as a result of the unpredictable travel restrictions that continue to be in place across the globe because of COVID-19.

In an exciting trade show industry deep dive, Trade Show News Network, in partnership with data analytics company Bear Analytics, have teamed up to unveil a dynamic dashboard of the TSNN Top 250 Trade Show list metrics.

The dashboard includes U.S. data from 2014-19 and is the most comprehensive look at large trade show data anywhere.

Recent news reports have suggested that the pandemic could still pose a considerable risk to human health and safety well into next year.

Held Aug. 29–Sept. 6 at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre in Germany, CARAVAN SALON, the world’s largest RV trade fair and consumer show, drew 107,000 mobile travel and leisure enthusiasts to the event’s 59^th edition.

On Sept.

Woodridge, Illinois-based Orbus Exhibit & Display Group, a wholesale supplier and manufacturer of display, exhibit, graphic and event tools, has acquired Fabric Images

In one of the most uncertain summers the event industry has ever experienced, events are still taking place, albeit a little more under the radar than usual. TSNN talked with two event organizers — one from a prestigious student basketball tournament and one from the East Coast’s largest consumer pet show — to learn why and how they carried on, and how they made each event not only possible, but also successful.