According to experts, the coronavirus pandemic has drastically affected the events and exhibition industry all across the globe. The conferences and trade fairs in India and across the world were cancelled which has deeply impacted exhibition stall designers, event organizers, businesses, freelancers, travel industry etc. When compared to other industries, every stakeholder in the event sector has suffered staggering economic losses.

One of the defining features of any event or exhibition is the face to face meeting, engaging the customer and leading them forward in the journey, aimed at capturing leads and forming business connections. With social distancing measures in place and health and hygiene concerns, it is almost impossible to get back to pre-COVID-19 ways. Hence, it is essential that the exhibition industry look forward to the new normal and find out innovative ways to get the industry back on track.

Let’s see possible solutions for the exhibition stall industry during coronavirus pandemic.

• Exhibition stalls are one of the most important components of any event or exhibition. As mentioned before, due to lockdown measures, industries across verticals such as electronics, automobile, food, energy, fashion, technology, digital media and others have either cancelled the upcoming events or postponed them to a future date.

The industry leaders and experts are hoping for a quick solution to the coronavirus situation. Some of the big players are planning to resume traditional form of events by September, given that coronavirus is under control. Otherwise, all the events would be shifted to the next year 2021. Therefore, all is not yet lost and the exhibition stall industry can bounce back in the coming months or by next year.

• The exhibition stall design are very optimistic about the future too. Of course, the business is definitely going through a lean phase, but everyone is hoping that exhibitions in one form or the other will resume. There are talks of setting up exhibition stalls with necessary distance. This will help the audience to keep social distancing rules and experience events as before. Temperature check machines can be put in place. Proper masks can be made compulsory. Sanitizer and other clean habits can be encouraged. To avoid the crowd, less number of invitees can visit the event at a time. All of these things are possible. However, the details are yet to studied and the execution part is yet to be understood.

• Besides, exhibition stalls with proper distancing, there are talks of conducting virtual exhibitions and events. Although it is not something new, it is in the nascent stage in a country like India. The AR and VR are becoming popular forms of interaction for the audience too. If such events are going to take place, the exhibition stalls can be fabricated as per the desire of the client, keeping in mind the specifications or needs for a virtual way of showcasing events. Else, exhibition booth can be designed and a virtual tour can be given to the audience using high definition live videos. There is no dearth of ideas as such. Therefore, technology is going to make a huge splash in the coming times.

• With such an unprecedented situation that has gripped the exhibition industry, the new normal would demand stricter contracts and business collaborations. The cancellation terms and conditions will be reworked and exhibition stall designers will have to carve out cost strategies to minimize the loss in case the events are cancelled or postponed.

• There is an urgent need for all the stakeholders like event organizers, exhibition stall designers, venue arrangers, travel managers, invitees, attendees, and the whole industry to come together and face this new challenger. Remember, resilience is key here and recovery will soon follow the loss.

It is not the first time the exhibition stall industry or event market has faced challenges. Every crisis is an opportunity and those who adapt to the changes will come out on top. Vasant Creative with many decades of experience in the filed is geared up to serve the industry with best of exhibition stalls and other services.