In a public letter, the Event Industry Association has asked the government for an urgent meeting to help the sector—comprised of companies that organize all kinds of events as well as rental, video, audio, TV, and film production studios—overcome the economic crisis.

These businesses, the letter says, have been unable to work and earn any income since Feb. 28, when public gatherings were recommended against, and then banned, which has placed their futures in doubt.

“We have been following the news,” the event organizers note, “watching press conferences that set apart threatened sectors or sectors with zero revenues, but we have not heard even a mention of our sector.”

“The region and the world recognize the event industry as a creative industry, in particular, and serious measures are taken to support it,” they add, equating it with tourism in terms of the financial losses it will experience due to the coronavirus crisis.

“As responsible citizens,” event planners point out, “we have acted on all recommendations completely and unquestionably. But as business people, we are seriously worried. The survival of our businesses is at stake. […] That’s why we’re asking for an urgent meeting [with the government] to consider ways and timelines for relaxing the measures concerning our industry.”

They say they are ready to submit specific proposals to improve the situation they are in, and “reach quality solutions that would rescue our industry and protect public health at the same time.”

The Event Industry Association has addressed the public letter to Caretaker Prime Minister Oliver Spasovski, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mila Carovska, and to Nina Angelovska, Kreshnik Bekteshi, and Venko Filipce, Ministers of Finance, of Economy, and of Health, respectively.