The annual Global Business Travel Association convention has been put back by four months.
The gathering planned to be held in Denver on July 25-29 has been re-scheduled for November 7-11.
More than 7,000 delegates were due to attend the event from 50 countries.
The association’s chief operating officer and executive director Scott Solombrino said: “This is the first time in GBTA’s 52-year history of convention that we have had to reschedule our signature event.
“This unprecedented move comes in unprecedented times. We are all working to ensure the safety of business travellers and their families.
“We are hopeful that the pandemic will subside on a global level and that we will be able to help travel managers and sponsors determine how best to revive the industry when we meet in November.
“We rescheduled the event after several weeks discussing options with officials at the Denver Convention Center. We all agreed that there was no way to hold a safe, healthy, and successful conference in July, so we agreed to push the dates out as far as possible in 2020.
“We will continue to work with the State of Colorado, City of Denver, the Convention Centre and health officials to ensure we can have our convention in November.
“Our hope is that the pandemic will pass within the next few months and we will be able to resume our normal activities.
“But if that is not the case, we may need to push convention back further. I will continue to keep you informed on the status of convention.”