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Douglas Quinby is still ‘cautiously optimistic’ that Arival Phoenix will go ahead in September.

Douglas Quinby, the CEO of Arival says he is ‘cautiously optimistic‘ that Arival Phoenix will still go ahead this year.

Douglas Quinby, the CEO of Arival says he is ‘cautiously optimistic‘ that Arival Phoenix will still go ahead this year.

This week, yet another travel industry conference, Phocuswright Europe, fell victim to the COVID-19 crisis, though they have moved their conference online rather than pulling the plug completely.

The Phocuswire news prompted even more concerned emails to Tourpreneur, with tour operators asking what are the chances of Arival Phoenix going ahead are and should they register for the event?

In our Tourpreneur Facebook Group, Douglas Quinby told our members that ‘right now Phoenix is on, and we’re cautiously optimistic with Arizona and other states beginning to re-open. We’re making plans for a number of scenarios, developing safety protocols, awaiting guidelines from the state, and other authorities on running events.’

He added ‘we’re also looking at ways to keep prices down for operators. We know how hard this has all been for operators, and we’re right there with you. More to come and we’ll have lots to announce soon.’

Tourpreneur sympathizes with the plight of Arival, canceling events means they do not make any money. Our industry needs Arival, which is hands down the best conference in the tours, activities and attractions industry.

Arival has not announced their cancellation policy should the Phoenix event not go ahead. Tourpreneur understands that attendees from the canceled Berlin event are still waiting on a refund. We urge Arival to communicate a refund policy for Phoenix giving peace of mind to tour operators who are hoping to attend because none of us can afford to be even more out of pocket this year.