“Heartbreaking”: Company behind coronavirus-plagued cattle conference goes into liquidation

A white-faced hereford steer looks up from grazing in a field in summer

An events company in New Zealand has been liquidated shortly after one of its conferences suffered an outbreak of COVID-19.

Liquidators were appointed to Dinamics Destination Management on 20 March, according to the New Zealand government’s online records, exactly one week after it wrapped up the 2020 World Hereford Conference in Queenstown, held on behalf of NZ Herefords.

Over 60 delegates from Australia attended the conference, which included a wide range of bovine-related topics and agricultural tours. The event is also understood to have attracted attendees from North and South America, Europe, the UK, and South Africa.

According to Kiwi news outlet Stuff, 17 cases of COVID-19 were traced back to the World Hereford Conference, including an Australian man who had returned home and tested positive.

Dinamics owners Scott and Bea Bellingham also suffered a large number of event cancellations in the weeks prior as a result of the worsening coronavirus outbreak offshore and increased travel restrictions.

The couple told Stuff they declared insolvency early and described the decision to let staff go as “heartbreaking”.

“Whilst we had enough cash reserves for a normal year, or even a rocky year, we did not have the opportunity to build up the financial resilience that more established business may see,” the couple said.

“We went from a pipeline of around 30 events to no prospects for the foreseeable future. A company cannot survive on a government handout alone.”

According to the company’s LinkedIn page, which was still active at the time of writing, Dinamics was founded in 1995 and were “specialists in conferences and incentive events”.

Featured image credit: iStock/Sheryl Watson

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