The Global Business Travel Association has postponed its European conference scheduled to have taken place 6-8 December in Berlin.
The organisation sent a brief email signed by EMEA regional vice president Catherine Logan to registered delegates today, stating the event would be pushed to late February or early March "due to the new and dynamic developments around the omicron variant" of Covid-19 "and newly instated travel/meeting restrictions."
Covid-19 cases were surging in Germany prior to the discovery of the omicron variant and rumours were circulating at the GBTA's Orlando convention, 17-19 November, that the outlook was not good for preserving the event.
Though most German regions were already restricting access to indoor facilities and events to vaccinated or recovered individuals, German public health and research agency the Robert Koch Institute issued a statement on 11 November urgently advising "cancelling or avoiding larger events if possible, but also reducing all other unnecessary contacts."
According to the Associated Press, head of the institute Lothar Wieler emphasised the following day that Germany had fewer hospital beds available than at any time during the pandemic and more than half of intensive care units reported "acute staff shortages".
With the discovery of the omicron variant circulating in Germany earlier than previously thought, there is pressure on government officials to curb transmission opportunities sooner rather than later.
According to the GBTA's email to delegates, "the safety and health of all those involved in our events is our number one priority". The organisation said it would confirm new dates for the conference "shortly" and that all registrations, accommodation bookings, exhibitor booths and sponsorships would roll over automatically to the future dates.
GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang in a statement posted on the GBTA website said flexibility and attention to public health and safety would typify business travel as the industry recovers in 2022. But she also criticised recent government actions to close borders broadly and lock out economic opportunity.
"Public health, resilience and agility must be our new norm in the business travel industry," she said. "And as regions and governments around the world assess the potential impact of omicron, GBTA continues to encourage a consistent, thoughtful approach to travel. Actions taken should focus on vaccination or recovery status and individual traveller risk versus broad-reaching travel restrictions or border shutdowns."