Discover Halifax recently launched an initiative to help local and Atlantic bubble businesses and event organizers amid the pandemic.
The Meet Again Halifax campaign and associated website includes tips and advice for hosting safe face-to-face events, as well as a list of trusted venues to help.
“In a typical year, Halifax welcomes 5.3 million overnight stays who spend $1.3 billion locally. Business travellers attending meetings are an important part of this,” says Ross Jefferson, president and CEO of the city’s destination marketing organization.
The meetings and conventions industry accounts for nine per cent of Halifax’s tourism industry or approximately $115 million in economic spending from visitors. Like all other industries impacted by COVID-19, it will be a long road to recovery, and hotels and meetings venues are working diligently to safely host in-person meetings and get Halifax back to business.
Under current pandemic-related restrictions, leaders and companies that want to host traditional meetings may find their boardrooms are too small. Hotels and venues are meeting the needs of businesses by repurposing ballrooms and larger meeting spaces.
Currently, there are 20 hotels and venues listed on the Meet Again Halifax website. Each have developed a number of room layouts to help host a variety of in-person meetings. They can also assist with all the requirements for masks, signage, health screening and contact tracing, as well as take care of extra cleaning.
Additionally, there are 27 suppliers to help elevate and make meetings go more smoothly. This allows leaders of associations, businesses and corporations to focus on their own business recovery.
