HALIFAX -- The city's new convention centre is a quiet place these days.
With little going on, doors to the public are generally locked. Like everything else, it seems, the convention business is a little slow right now.
"We are still hosting events -- they're local events," said Erin Esiyok-Prime, the director of marketing and communications for Events East. "So, things like community gatherings, business meetings, things like that."
Thanks to health protocols, even major events, like the Liberal leadership convention last month, are scaled back significantly.
Data from the states suggests airline traffic is starting to pick up -- a promising-sign of recovery.
At this point though, it's almost entirely recreational travel, leaving some to question whether the days of the big business convention are behind us.
"As it stands right now, there's nothing indicating that business travel is going to pick up," said Renaud of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. "Businesses have a lot less cash on hand."
But in the end, we're also craving that human connection that only comes with face-to-face meetings, says Dalhousie business professor Lorn Sheehan.
"If we didn't have that facility, we wouldn't be competitive with many other cities," Sheehan said.
And although many part-time staff got layoff notices when the pandemic hit, officials are convinced there'll be work for them in the future, because conventions are still being booked.
"No question," said Ross Jefferson, the president and CEO of Discover Halifax. "We actually have seen a lot of our bookings - we're booking right now ahead four and five years ahead for conferences right now. The conferences that were impacted this year were booked three and four years ago."
So, although everyone acknowledges the convention business has seen better days, the forecast for the future depends who you ask.
In the age of a pandemic, conventional thinking isn't what it used to be.
