Coronavirus: Event planners cry over huge losses from cancelled events

Fears over the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus outbreak are causing authorities to take extra precautions with mass gatherings and events in Ghana.

As worries over COVID-19 continue to grow, so does the list of events and concerts being called off.

The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.

But many event planners are seeing a decline in business engagement as cases of COVID-19 continue to rise globally. This follows the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s ban on public gatherings, and funerals. In his address to the nation Sunday, March 15, 2020, he noted that aside schools being shut down till further notice, only private funerals can be held, and with only about 25 attendees in all.

Bryan Menson, a planner who majors in event planning, expected his ‘White Chalk’ event company to organize more than 200 events this year, basking in the glory of previous parties planned for corporations in and out of Ghana.

As more cases of coronavirus are confirmed globally, White Chalk events feels the crimp caused by the outbreak as its clients are “pulling the plug” on contracts.

“They’re not giving us solid postponement dates,” Bryan, the company's CEO, told Ghanaweb.

“My prediction is that my business will make 50% less of what it expected to do, if not less.”

The pandemic is quite devastating on the operations of FloBeqz event company.

The CEO, Florence Beqz says she cancelled an entire wedding which was five days away. She explained that her company, which has five full-time employees, suffered a great loss as her client wanted a full refund of her payment.

“The wedding was five days away and I had actually paid for everything I had to pay. My client shows up later to cancel and then request for full refund. Honestly, we had a hard time but we finally settled on a friendly refund”.

“None of this is going to allow us to make up for the lost revenue and growth. Every event has been cancelled for March. That means there’s no income at all for this month,” she added.

On the flip side, Dustin Glover, CEO of Dustin events, said he has not felt much of the impact.

"For the most part, we have not seen yet a dramatic impact because we did not accept bookings for March and April

Glover believes the long-term effects of the virus will ripple throughout the economy.

"Even if it lasts months, it's still temporary. The effects it can have on the local economy and the local businesses and, in turn, the families can be permanent," he said.