A few weeks ago, Toronto Auto Show organizers were hoping for clear direction from Ontario public health authorities on whether they could or should go ahead with the event in 2022. Yesterday, Canadian Automotive News reported that visitors will once again be able to file through the doors of the automotive event in the Queen City in 2022.
Organizers made the decision to go ahead with the event after the Ontario government passed legislation on October 8 lifting restrictions on hosting capacity for major events.
The news was confirmed by the auto show's executive director, Jason Campbell.
As a result, from February 18 to 27, The Toronto Convention Centre will see some 360,000 visitors pass through its turnstiles between February 18 and 27, 2022. That figure makes the CIAS (Canadian International Auto Show) the largest gathering of its kind in the country.
“We’re looking forward to another show. It’s been a very rapid ascent from feeling very unlikely that we will have a show to the time when ‘holy cow it can be wide open again’. It was a wonderful surprise and now everybody is racing to figure out the logistics of how all of this is going to work and racing to get their teams back in place.”
- CIAS General Manager Jack Campbell
Campbell believes fans will have a “huge hunger” to return to the CIAS. He is currently in discussions with manufacturers regarding the current rules and regulations regarding Covid-19 protocols.
So far, manufacturers who have indicated an intention to participate have reserved 70 percent of the available space. Campbell says this will allow new companies to participate in the show, especially those related to electrification.
With respect to provincial health regulations, visitors and employees will be required to wear masks and prove they are double-vaccinated.
GM Campbell indicated that a ticketing system, particularly on weekends, will be put in place to limit the amount of time consumers can spend at the show before having to leave. He said this is to best control the number of people in the convention centre and maintain the flow of people. He added that on average, people stay at the show between 3 and 3.5 hours.
“I don't think we’ll get to the point where we are policing people and forcing them out after three hours,” he said. “We will simply sell a certain number of tickets per hour.”
The ticketing system will include visitors’ names and contact information. They will be required to show identification to confirm that the name of the ticket holder matches the name of the person presenting it. Previously, tickets could be shared.
It may not be ideal, but it's a step in the right direction.
Now we’ll have to see what happens with the Montreal show. A decision must be made by mid-November, but with the lifting of restrictions on full capacity at Quebec events, there’s reason to be optimistic about an in-person Montreal auto show in January.
