The leaders of three events-business associations have written a letter to Gov. Ned Lamont and the General Assembly, asking for the easing of Covid-19 restrictions as they continue to struggle to overcome the pandemic.
“We write today to plead with you on behalf of the industry to set a specific date for the reopening of indoor events of at least 150 guests,” wrote the leaders of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, the Connecticut Event Industry Coalition, and the Connecticut Convention and Sports Bureau.
“As you know, New York recently announced a March 15th reopening of events up to 150 people and New Jersey has already moved to allow indoor events up to 150 guests. Both of these examples have helped to preserve their own event industry by boosting consumer confidence that events would be moving forward.”
Acknowledging that past conversations and meetings have been productive, they continued: “We know each of you understands that for the event industry, long-term planning is everything. If our customers and their families continue to cancel events for the spring and summer, our industry will lose another year of activity, a devastating blow to Connecticut”™s economy.”
Asking for a “plan of action and a date urgently” as the warmer months near, they noted that the event industry “has been one of the hardest hit, leading to an entire year of lost revenue and these businesses are in serious jeopardy of closing permanently. This devastation has caused significant hardship on our employees, fellow vendors, and all of the supporting ancillary businesses, which is approximately 32,000 jobs per month.”
The letter is signed by CRA Executive Director Scott Dolch, Connecticut Event Industry Coalition President and Founder Shiran Nicholson, and Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau President and Director of National Accounts Robert Murdock.
