On Friday, Outdoor Industry Association announced that it had decided to postpone Capitol Summit, its April conference in Washington, D.C., in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
A statement from OIA reads, “As the coronavirus outbreak continues to grow as a public health concern, all of us at Outdoor Industry Association want to do our part to limit the spread of the virus and be mindful of the health of our members, companies, partners and everyone’s families. We hope to reschedule this at a future date as we still have important legislation and information to share with congressional leaders around how the outdoors and the outdoor recreation economy contribute to the well-being of our citizens, communities and our country, especially in times such as these.”
OIA has made clear that the June 23-25 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market is still slated to proceed as planned in Denver. However, the organization says it is “in close communication with Emerald Exposition and will continue to consult guidance from local, state and federal government around travel and convening large groups and keep everyone apprised of any changes.”
OIA has encouraged its staff to work remotely in coming weeks, following precautions taken by companies like Petzl and OBJ’s parent company, Active Interest Media.