By Tyler Davidson (August 11, 2020) COVID-19 has cut a path of destruction through the meetings industry, and among the hardest hit are DMOs/CVBs, which are cutting staff as much of their revenue stream from hotel bed taxes and tourism improvement districts has dried up.
According to Don Welsh, president and CEO of Destinations International (DI), the association that represents DMOs/CVBs, the lingering pandemic and dire news about a resurgence in infection rates has added extra urgency for relief that the federal government has yet to offer through the CARES Act.
Welsh emphasized that DI is working with US Travel Association to apply pressure on the federal government to expand the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to include 501(c)(6) tax-exempt organizations, which comprise about 97% of DI’s membership.
“Clearly business conditions have not improved,” Welsh said. “I think many organizations are not able to bring back very important furloughed employees, and in some cases they’re having to now lay off additional people.
For full article - https://www.meetingstoday.com/magazines/article-details/articleid/34423/title/cvbs-staff-reductions