HALIFAX -- Hockey executives are already busy planning for 2021 when the world women's hockey championship will finally come to Nova Scotia after being cancelled for this year.
"The good news is that we're 12 months ahead in the planning cycle for 2021," says Grant MacDonald, the event's general manager.
MacDonald says losing this year's due to concerns about the coronavirus was a devastating blow, but cancelling it was the right call.
"We do know that public health officials know this area better than we do, so we needed to rely on the best information that we could access," MacDonald said.
Downtown Halifax Business Commission executive director Paul MacKinnon says event planners are on heightened alert as they brace for future cancellations, but he's hopeful the crisis will taper off in time for the summer tourist season.
"It's really about monitoring things and ultimately we, like a lot of folks, will take our lead from the three levels of government," MacKinnon said. "They'll be basing what they do on medical research and science."
Mackinnon is also a board member for the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo.
He says there have been no conversations about cancelling or postponing the Tattoo, but it will be discussed when they have their next meeting.
