COVID-19's Impact and a Look Ahead

Our industry and our world have been upended.
Years from now when we look back at this time, we will not only remember the negative impact of business and personal interruptions, but also recall the positive. Like coming together in unusual ways that allowed us to still feel connected to each other or getting “back to basics” by tapping into our creativity for health, entertainment and education solutions.

Our innovative spirits have taken root and are driving us toward a new and exciting future.

This positivity has happened even in the midst of things we never thought we’d see happen to our industry. Transportation suspended. Hotels closed. Vegas dimmed. Gatherings banned.

But one thing that never seems to change in difficult times is our industry’s resilience. We’ve been through challenging times like this before — maybe not on this scale, but challenging times nonetheless — and we always rally together and shine.

At Maritz Global Events, we are always guided by our signature core value, “First, Take Good Care of Each Other” which is more important now than ever. This guidepost ensures we consider our most important stakeholders – our clients, our people, our supplier partners and the communities in which we live and work – when making decisions. This challenging time impacts us all and we will honor our signature core value and our stakeholders through how we behave, strive towards fair and workable solutions and how we partner together to move forward as this situation fades.  

During this surreal time, we are grateful for our industry organizations – U.S. Travel Association, Meetings Mean Business Coalition, MPI, PCMA, Site, IAEE, ASAE, EIC and others – who are tirelessly representing our industry and telling our unique story of how we drive global business, and economies, forward. From the millions of jobs to the billions of dollars generated, our industry’s impact is unmatched.

So, while we are currently experiencing difficult times, let’s keep our heads up and focus on the opportunity that lies ahead. Let’s share our collective voice and focus on the recovery to come. Let’s connect in the ways we can and look forward to face-to-face meetings on the horizon.

Let’s take care of each other.