Local Study

Interviews were done in the Philippines during the early phases of the

shutdown. Face-to-face interviews were not possible due to travel

restrictions, social separation, and other quarantine rules enforced by the

President's Office (CNN Philippines, 2020). The specialists were also

geographically separated, eliminating the option of holding focus group

sessions.

Local Literature

Events such as conferences, festivals, concerts, sporting events, and

weddings, among others, would hinder social separation since large groups

would become unruly. As a result, the ban of mass meetings must be key to

the lockdown evacuation plan. (Ocampo, L., & Yamagishi, K., 2020).

Foreign Study

Events are regarded as one of the most important routes of infectious

disease transmission (Ishola & Phin, 2011). As a result, in the case of a

pandemic, event cancellation or delay is always regarded the best option

(Ahmed & Memish, 2020; McCloskey et al., 2020). Events and festivals that
are not properly regulated might become 'super spreading' events. In recent

years, India has seen a substantial increase in the frequency of COVID-19

infections due to a lack of precautions taken by religious congregations such

as Tablighi Jamaat (BBC, 2020).

During the COVID-19 crisis, the government put immediate limitations

on travel and event gatherings. This resulted in irreversible damage to the

events tourism industry. According to an OSAKA (2020) report, MICE events,

which play an important role in economic growth, experienced

unprecedented cancellations and postponements. Most events – exhibitions,

concerts, conferences, sports events, marriages, and trade shows, among

others – were canceled or postponed by organizers in accordance with

government guidelines (Gössling et al., 2020; Ozili & Arun, 2020).All kind of

events across the world whether cultural, business, sports or mega-events

like Olympic 2020, IPL (Indian Premier League), IIFA 2020, ITB-India, India

Fintech Festival, Ultra Festival, Goa Fest, FDCI India Fashion Week,

Marathon, META Theater Awards, E3, SXSW tech event and many more have

got affected due to the pandemic (Gössling et al., 2020; Ranasinghe et al.,

2020). Organizers face the difficult dynamics of participants' risk perceptions

of COVID-19 transmission in such an unpredictable event environment. An

event is a highly social occasion that is bound to be crowded. Customers'

perceptions of events may have a greater detrimental impact on their

psychology and behavior than ever before in public gathering locations when
physical/social separation is occurring. While some research indicates that

young individuals, novelty seekers, experienced travelers, and repeat

visitors travel despite perceived dangers (Elsrud, 2001; Lepp & Gibson,

2003; Rittichainuwat & Chakraborty, 2009), the spread of illness is a

significant disincentive to travel (Kozak, Crotts, & Law, 2007).

Foreign Literature

From the interviews, it is clear that the declaration of the pandemic

and the challenges to event management practices, were unanticipated. If

suitable contingency plans were in place, they were not mentioned. One

interviewee captured the difficulties of not having precedents or analogues

to draw upon,

“We had all this historical knowledge about how people behaved and how

things would work, and now it's like we're back to square one. Even if we've

delivered an event plenty of times, we haven't delivered it post COVID and

we don't know what impact that is going to have on crowd behavior or

audience behavior.”

Interviewees attempted to make sense of the situation and their ability

to respond in various ways, including assessing the viability of existing

methods to, and specific measures for, assisting the industry. Prior to the
pandemic, event officers said that "their" organizations provided a "one stop

shop," enabling and supporting events, notably piloting them through risk

assessment and licensing, and, in some cases, sponsoring events, rather

than merely contributing to their organization. Following the epidemic, it

appears that all fundamental management and governance activities were

performed, albeit at decreased capacity (see below). However, for the

majority, it was no longer suitable or (financially) viable to continue

financing events at past levels or at all (i.e., a temporary suspension).

Resumption through 2020 and 2021 was a moot point. In general, changing

public health guidance and government announcements introduced

uncertainty and led to risk aversion. Events officers for Scottish local

authorities noted the same broad effects but stressed the Scottish

government's more cautious approach to releasing restrictions (cf. Castle,

2021).

Hosting live events is one of the toughest issues that COVID-19 has

brought to businesses. Because of the risk of the virus spreading, venues

were shuttered and many huge events were canceled in order to keep

people safe and healthy. However, when in-person events were canceled,

the demand for virtual events increased dramatically. Event organizers, in

particular, have had to rethink their approach to industry gatherings,

devising new methods to connect with shareholders, investors, and potential

consumers.
 Many sectors that were booming prior to the epidemic have suffered

considerable revenue losses and have shrunk in terms of growth. Several

corporations in several industries have already filed bankruptcy or had to lay

off considerable segments of their workforce. Naturally, the events business

was one of the most hit by the epidemic. Many famous festivals, athletic

events, exhibits, and concerts were canceled in 2020 in an effort to halt the

spread of the virus. St. Patrick's Day celebrations were canceled throughout

the world as early as March. The pandemic's limitations have even impacted

private occasions such as weddings.

According to Megan Booley’s The Complete Guide to Safe Meetings and

Events, in-person meetings and activities may have been put on hold, but

innovation has been rampant. Virtual and hybrid meetings are here to stay

because they address the requirement to meet with more people in a safer

and more productive manner. Meetings will also most likely be quick, as

prolonged, close contact is suspected to transmit the virus.

Coles T, Garcia G, O'Malley E and Turner C (2022). Experiencing Event

Management during the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Public Sector

Perspective. Front. Sports Act. Living 3:814146. doi:

10.3389/fspor.2021.814146

Peak, S. (2020). How Event Industry Companies Are Pivoting Through

Pandemic. Retrieved from https://www.uschamber.com/co/good-

company/growth-studio/event-industry-companies-pivoting-through-

pandemic

EU Business School (2020). How the Event Industry is tackling the Impact of

COVID-19. Retrieved from https://www.euruni.edu/blog/event-

industry-impact-covid-19/#

Mohanty, Priyakrushna & Dhoundiyal, Himanshi & Choudhury, Rashmiranjan.

(2021). Events Tourism in the Eye of the COVID-19 Storm: Impacts

and Implications.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343736472_Events_Touris

m_in_the_Eye_of_the_COVID-

19_Storm_Impacts_and_Implications/citation/download
Boley, M. (2021). The Complete Guide to Safe Meetings and Events.

Retrieved from https://www.cvent.com/en/blog/hospitality/safe-meetings-

events

Boo, S., & Kim, T. J. (2022). Reexamining event attributes, benefits, and

values in a time of pandemic: A multi-faceted approach. Tourism

management perspectives, 42, 100950.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2022.100950

Disimulacion, M. (2021). Philippine MICE Tourism Post-Covid 19: An

Overview of Challenges and Opportunities. Retrieved from https://ejournal-

medan.uph.edu/index.php/apiemj/article/download/442/251

Ocampo, L., & Yamagishi, K. (2020). Modeling the lockdown relaxation protocols

of the Philippine government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: An

intuitionistic fuzzy DEMATEL analysis. Socio-economic planning

sciences, 72, 100911. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seps.2020.100911

Tackling the Impact of COVID-19