As we know, the world is changing day by day and unfortunately despite there being a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel in Australia, it seems the rest of the world still needs some time to get through the worst of Covid-19.
Regardless of the continued level of confusion and the numbers of infected still rising, it seems some international events have rescheduled for later in 2020 in the hope that international travel will be back to normal.
Is Hong Kong too early?
The HKTDC originally postponed their March International Jewellery Show till August 3-6th 2020, however with the current rate of change globally, one may be forgiven for thinking that its still too early to commit to an August date. Considering the current travel restrictions and requirements for travellers to quarantine for 14 days once arriving home, on top of the new financial state of jewellery businesses globally, it doesn’t seem likely that attendance at the August show will be strong.
Usually an event that marks highly in the global jewellery industry calendar, this year, unfortunately, is bound to be very different.
Global changes…
Covid19 has taken its toll right across the world, in every industry, but for those of us working in the world of luxury, the changes have been significant. And with the USA, UK and Europe all in the middle of this tragedy, travel will be the furthest thing on peoples minds for a while.
Scientists and doctors are working around the clock to develop a vaccine for the virus, however with less than 120 days until the HKTDC show, and standard vaccine development and testing times sitting at around 12-18 months, it is highly unlikely that we will have any armour against the virus by the time the rescheduled show comes along.
Baselworld
The HKTDC Fair attracts hundreds of Australian visitors, so the changes to this event will certainly be on the watch list for many here on our island. But along with the Hong Kong show changes, others around the world are also changing dates and potentially closing their doors forever.
Baselworld, due to run at the end of April 2020, has been postponed till January 2021, and the transition has not been smooth sailing for event organisers and exhibitors. Complications regarding exhibitor payments have caused havoc with relationships behind the scenes.
America also delayed.
One to watch, will be the series of JCK events in America, the next of which JIS April, originally due to run in a few short weeks, but has also been postponed till October this year and will be merged with JCK October. One of the larger of the JCK fairs in the calendar is the JCK in Las Vegas, which attracts many Australian buyers.
The state of the jewellery industry globally is very much in limbo and frustrated confusion, and this is no more evident than when watching the changes occurring in the space of international jewellery shows.
Well keep watching this space as news develops continually, and with any luck, the show will go on in 2021.