Product and service attributes significantly influence customer perception and consumption experience ( Mittal, Ross, & Baldasare, 1998 Xiang, Schwartz, Gerdes Jr., & Uysal, 2015 Xu, 2020). As such, event organizers need to be able to examine event attributes in order to track and predict possible changes, find opportunities to improve services, and seek ways to offer services that can fulfill certain needs. While some studies show that young adults, novelty seekers, experienced travelers, and repeat visitors travel despite perceived risks ( Elsrud, 2001 Lepp & Gibson, 2003 Rittichainuwat & Chakraborty, 2009), the spread of disease largely serves as a compelling deterrent to travel ( Kozak, Crotts, & Law, 2007).Īmid the pandemic, consumers' expectations for event products/services are subject to change. Customers' perception toward events may negatively affect their psychology and behavior more than ever before in public gathering spaces where physical/social distancing is taking place. An event is a highly social function with inherent crowding. In such an uncertain event environment, organizers face the challenging dynamics of individuals' risk perceptions toward COVID-19 infection. In an effort to minimize disruption and continue providing event services, many leading industry organizations such as the Events Industry Council (2020), International Festivals and Events Association (2020), and International Association of Exhibitions and Events (2020) advised event organizers to protect the health and safety of attendees through relevant policies, procedures, plans, and practices. The increasing role of state fairs, however, has been put on hold during the pandemic. According to Smith Travel Research (STR)’s trend reports, hotel performance for the months when state fairs were held in 2019 (e.g., Arizona State Fair, Iowa State Fair, Minnesota State Fair, and Ohio State Fair) showed year-over-year growth in occupancy, average daily rate, and revenue per available room.
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Their cultural and social significance are a celebration of a region's agricultural heritage and a driver of economic activity ( Deliso, 2020).
State fairs contribute directly to urban and rural communities' economies. state fair industry generates more than $4.7 billion in revenue each year and attracts as many as 150 million residents and tourists ( International Association of Fairs and Expositions, 2019). Industry statistics indicate that event businesses across industry sectors - meetings ( MPI, 2020), live events ( Lampert-Greaux, 2020), and exhibitions ( Shaw, 2020) - have suffered cancellations, economic hardship, and financial losses since March 2020.Ī major source of local economic benefit also became a casualty of pandemic-related cancellations: the state fair. Public health and safety concerns led to numerous domestic and international events being cancelled or rescheduled for 2021 ( Event Marketer, 2020).
Echoing the impact of the 2003 SARS epidemic and the 2009 H1N1 (Swine Flu) pandemic, the COVID-19 pandemic has substantially affected the tourism industry, with event markets among the hardest hit tourism sub-sectors ( Gössling, Scott, & Hall, 2021). The United States federal government declared a national state of emergency in January 2020, followed by a March recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to cancel events with 50 or more people ( CDC, 2020).
The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, as the virus continued to spread ( WHO, 2020).
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