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NEW YORK—The Vision Council and its partners at Reed Exhibitions, organizers of Vision Expo, said that they are working to incorporate as many aspects as possible of the "reimagination" planned for Vision Expo East 2020 into Vision Expo West 2020. "With elements of Vision Expo East being merged with Vision Expo West, this will be an expanded show," Mitch Barkley, The Vision Council's vice president of trade shows, told VMAIL. "While it is too early to share specifics, we are confident that Vision Expo West is well-poised to be the can’t-miss event of 2020 for the industry."

He added, "Anecdotally, we have many exhibitors who have never taken a presence at Vision Expo West asking to contract for space this year. The same came be said for attendees. We are energized by the enthusiasm and interest we’re seeing and look forward to sharing more details about Vision Expo West as we continue to work through our plans."

On Tuesday of this week, Vision Expo communicated an update regarding accommodations being made directly to all previously registered attendees and education conference attendees of the Vision Expo East 2020 show and conference. According to posts shared by show attendees and conferees on several social platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter this week, Vision Expo East said, "We understand the hardship the postponement may cause for our customers and have decided to make an exception to our standard terms and conditions of purchase."

The communication said that all attendee exhibit hall registration fees as well as conference/continuing education fees would be credited to purchasers with no further action needed. The organizers emphasize that attendees and conferees with questions should email inquiry@visionexpo.com or call (800) 811-7151.

In addition, when asked about communications with exhibitors, Barkley told VMAIL, "Over the course of this week, the Vision Expo sales team is directly communicating with its contacts at our more than 600 exhibiting companies. This will take time and we appreciate everyone’s patience in the process. Exhibitors with immediate questions are encouraged to contact their Vision Expo sales team member directly. Thus far, the feedback and response has been incredibly positive, and we believe Vision Expo West will be a monumental event."

The Vision Council and Reed Exhibitions, organizers of Vision Expo, announced on March 6 their plans to consolidate Vision Expo East, due to be held March 26-29 in New York City, with Vision Expo West in Las Vegas, Sept. 23-26. The decision, as VMAIL reported, "is based on active and close monitoring of ongoing developments related to the COVID-19 virus; recent reports from public health officials and in line with national and regional authorities and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, together with extensive consultation with Vision Expo’s partners at The Vision Council and in the global vision care and services community."