* DEMA Show 2021 Will Stage in Las Vegas, November 16-19, 2021 *
We understand the pandemic is an ongoing concern and we are committed to providing a safe and productive Show experience for all members, exhibitors, and attendees. DEMA will continue to watch and implement the health and safety requirements put forth by the state of Nevada, Clark County, and the Las Vegas Convention Authority.
As of this writing, Nevada and the city of Las Vegas require that masks be worn by attendees and exhibitors while indoors at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) and during DEMA Show. Additionally, the LVCC has been awarded the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR certification, which demonstrates the highest standards for daily cleaning, air filtration, and sanitization. You can learn more about their standards and protocols for maintaining a clean and safe facility here. We also encourage Show attendees and exhibitors to take any additional steps that will make them feel comfortable and safe on-site, such as limiting physical interactions and social distancing. You can view DEMA’s Show health and safety guidelines here.
As you may have heard, a few large exhibitors have decided not to participate in DEMA Show 2021. We are disappointed that you will be unable to see them in Las Vegas this year, but the hundreds of contracted exhibitors remaining are excited to meet and connect with you. They are eager to engage with industry professionals, show you their latest products and services, and provide access to many hours of professional development, as they participate right alongside you.
Like DEMA Show exhibitors who have made the commitment to support your business, DEMA Show also has contractual obligations with convention facilities, hotels, and more. Given that Las Vegas is safely hosting many other large trade shows, canceling, or postponing a show with our size and success would be difficult and could impair DEMA’s future ability to support our members. But if we believed DEMA Show would be an unsafe environment, we would look for alternative ways to provide a similar opportunity for the industry. Much has changed with the state of the pandemic since the end of 2020. As we see many other large-scaled shows successfully take place in Las Vegas, and with established Show safety protocols approved by the authorities in Nevada, we are confident that DEMA Show 2021 will be a safe, fun, and productive experience for all participants.
In fact, every week, LVCC successfully hosts other trade shows of all sizes. Among the many trade shows staging around the city of Las Vegas between now and DEMA Show, 17 of them are scheduled at the LVCC. Many of these shows have thousands of attendees. Throughout the year, successful and safe events have been and are being hosted each week in the city, following LVCC and Nevada Guidelines. The full list of the upcoming events is available on the Las Vegas Means Business website.
DEMA’s goal is to provide the best possible platform for the professional diving community to connect, engage, collaborate, and celebrate our industry. As “polls” are notoriously inaccurate, DEMA Show prefers to rely on actual attendee and exhibitor participation data. This early, with about two months still to go, our best bellwether is the fact that more than 2,500 DEMA hotel block rooms have already been booked to date—a number we anticipate will continue to grow.
DEMA-Members, exhibitors, and attendees have expressed immense excitement and eagerness to return to an in-person DEMA Show. Like all trade shows staging since the beginning of the pandemic, we do expect the 2021 Show experience to be a different one, but we also expect it to be valuable—given the circumstances, perhaps more valuable than ever before.
DEMA Show brings great value to the industry by providing an unmatched opportunity for participants to network with other industry professionals, as well as to see many industry offerings all in one place, in a cost-effective way. With the established safety protocols, DEMA Show will once again provide this opportunity for the industry and will stage as scheduled.
As a non-profit trade association, DEMA will continue to use the money earned through DEMA Show to fund public policy efforts, research, professional development offerings, disaster assistance, future DEMA Shows, and more. Everything DEMA does is in support of the recreational diving industry.
You are our community, and we continue to do everything in our power to support you. We hope that you’ll join us in Las Vegas this November.
Stay safe and well.
Sincerely,
Tom Ingram
President & CEO
The Diving Equipment & Marketing Association
(858) 616-6408
