The Delta strain is dealing a setback to the convention industry’s fragile recovery, Bloomberg News reported. Some big gatherings are being shut down as the number of coronavirus cases surges again, dealing a fresh hit to a business that was already struggling to revive from the era of social distancing and working from home. The New York International Automobile Show was canceled this month for the second year in a row because of concerns over the pandemic. In Florida, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers and the Global Surgical Conference called off their events, with organizers of the later, citing the “dramatic surge” in the state’s cases. “It is very hard to pull a group of people and make sure that they are all comfortable in meeting together,” S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Safina Ali said in an interview. “To an extent, they might not even get back to pre-Covid” levels, she said, referring to convention centers. Bond-financed convention centers have seen their businesses dry up since the pandemic struck the U.S. in early 2020. The Center for Exhibition and Industry Research reported that the industry has shriveled to $24 billion, down $77 billion from 2019.
