(last updated: September 15, 2020)

The World Health Organisation has declared the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus a global pandemic on March 11.

UFI is supporting the work of global, regional, and national institutions who deal with this outbreak.

As part of the meetings industry, exhibitions are both very much affected by protective measures as they are a vital means to support industries in challenging times.

As an industry, we have shown time and again that we are supportive and resilient in difficult times. Our best response to this outbreak is to stay focused and calm.

On this page, we are listing some resources for UFI members and the industry at large.



Global Framework for Reopening Exhibitions and B2B Trade Events

Working with the global industry community, UFI has released a global framework that sets out how our industry will run events given the COVID19 conditions. The framework lists measures and advocacy messages for the dialogue with politicians and health authorities, and provides global industry guidance.

Good Practice Guide: Addressing COVID-19 Requirements for Re-Opening Business Events

Building on UFI’s “Global framework for reopening exhibitions and B2B trade events post the emergence from COVID-19”, this joint AIPC – ICCA – UFI guidance shares good industry practices and emerging standards for the implementation of framework measures from around the world.

Exhibition Industry Market Status Tracker

Around the world, many authorities are allowing exhibitions and business events to take place again, given certain preconditions and protective measures are put in place. UFI is tracking the current state of markets in a designated document



Exhibition & Events Industry Advocacy

The COVID-19 pandemic puts many businesses in our industry at risk. With our partners, UFI is working to advocate globally for specific support programmes from governments tailored to the needs of our sector. Jointly, we have already achieved success in many countries, and continue to work on this.



Advocacy resources

Data, materials, and messages you can use when you talk to your lawmakers and stakeholders about support for our sector



Information on the virus

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is the source of relevance, they have a dedicated web presence here: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

The WHO provides daily updates here: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports/

Global tracker of coronavirus cases by Johns Hopkins CSSE: https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

US Center for Disease Control: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

European Centre for Disease Prevention: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/novel-coronavirus-china



Travel advice:

Again, the WHO: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/travel-advice

IATA is maintaining an up to date overview of immigration rules for almost all countries around the world: https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/international-travel-document-news/1580226297.htm

The WHO and the UNWTO (World Tourism Organisation) have issued a joint statement regarding the travel and tourism industry: https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/27-02-2020-a-joint-statement-on-tourism-and-covid-19—unwto-and-who-call-for-responsibility-and-coordination

National governments issue travel advisories



Health advice:



We have put together a template with precautionary advice. That template can be translated into your local language and used as display.

The WHO has a good tool kit of material for travellers and trade show participants: WHO’s messaging on what travelers and participants in trade shows and exhibitions can do to stay safe.



Company advice:





Industry responses:

We are tracking policy announcements from exhibition industry associations here: blog.ufi.org

We are gathering case studies on exhibitions successfully dealing with the outbreak:

– 53rd MBC Construction Expo, KINTEX, South Korea – http://blog.ufi.org/2020/05/15/case-study-learnings-from-kintex-hosting-the-first-exhibition-held-in-south-korea-after-covid-19/

– GESS, Dubai, UAE – http://blog.ufi.org/2020/03/05/case-study-covid-19-handling-impact-for-gess-dubai-education/

– Aircraft Interiors and MRO Middle East – http://blog.ufi.org/2020/03/05/case-study-covid-19-handling-impact-for-aime/

– AIME, Melbourne, Australia – http://blog.ufi.org/2020/02/28/case-study-aime/

– Global Pet Expo, Orlando, U.S.A. – http://blog.ufi.org/2020/02/27/global-pet-expo-the-show-must-go-on-despite-covid-19/

– Integrated Systems Europe, Amsterdam, The Netherlands – http://blog.ufi.org/2020/02/18/case-study-ise-amsterdam-mike-blackman/



Additional resources: