- Attendees will brave travel procedures if they see value in overseas business events
- Virtual events provide extra reach, here to stay post-pandemic
- Lack of clarity and consistency adds to travel uncertainty
Cumbersome travel conditions, a result of governments’ Covid-19 restrictions, have not discouraged people from crossing borders to attend business events in person, observed show owners and organisers.
While Mathias Kuepper, Koelnmesse Singapore’s managing director, acknowledged that travel restrictions would force people to be “more selective (with) which overseas event they will attend”, the pain of virtual event fatigue was driving delegates to crave the return of face-to-face events.
Kuepper predicts that the expansion of travel lanes, which the world has witnessed in recent months, will encourage an increase in delegate travel.
He related that his company’s recently-concluded hybrid event, Gamescom Asia, received a number of overseas delegates despite travel hurdles, such as mandatory Covid-19 swab tests and a controlled itinerary in Singapore.
He noted that delegates were very happy to finally attend an event in-person, and interact face-to-face. “This was something most of them have been yearning for, (experiencing) the magic of a live event,” he remarked.
IMEX America, held in-person in Las Vegas from November 9 to 11, also went “really well”, shared Carina Bauer, chair of Association of Event Organisers as well as CEO of IMEX Group.
Bauer said attendees were generally not worried about travelling, protocols, tests and procedures because “they saw the value of attending the event” and went through the necessary trouble.
While interest in in-person attendance is growing, event organisers agree that measures to protect their participants, workforce and community must remain.
Katrina Leung, managing director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), said the company has a functioning hygiene concept and a policy that requires everyone involved in its tradeshows to be either vaccinated or tested.
Both Bauer and Hervé Sedky, chair of the Society of Independent Show Organizers and president & CEO of Emerald, have health protocols in place for their events, undergo self regulation, and conduct activities in the safest possible manner.
Sedky added that show organisers want to help “restart the economy in the right way” and ensure that business events are “not contributing to any additional cases around the world”.
“My impression is that people want to travel, and there’s pent-up demand to get back to business and get to events, and they trust organisers like us to put on events that are safe and secure,” said Sedky.
Alexis Lhoyer, co-founder and chief business officer of Chab Events, believes that the purpose of events will determine people’s willingness to “fly halfway around the world” for. Congresses where attendees close deals and network will more likely attract in-person attendance, compared to events that dispense knowledge.
In-person events in a post-lockdown world would need to provide more face-to-face value, Lhoyer opined, through “better quality meetings or matchmaking, high end touristic/entertainment experiences on the sidelines of the event, and attendees that really matters”.
“If the audience is ultimately (made up of) only competitors and colleagues, (the event) will be a nice industry catch-up but will not make people fly out for it,” he added.
Lhoyer added that event organisers could also help to “facilitate border measures for the next year or two”, as well as provide an “exclusive, curated experience for the in-person part of the event”, to pique delegates’ interest.
Continued virtual value
Even with the affirmation that “in-person events are essential for doing business”, David Thompson, IBTM World event director, acknowledges that “virtual events are a great way to engage with audiences”, especially as travel restrictions continue to impact in-person meetings.
That is why, IBTM World – slated to take place in-person this year at Fira, Barcelona, from November 30 to December 2, 2021 – will be accompanied by IBTM World Online from December 14-15, 2021, as an “enhancement”.
“Incorporating online as part of the mix allows our community the opportunity to engage with new markets like never before by offering more flexibility and extra layers of engagement,” he stated.
Leung pointed out that virtual exhibitions are a “great solution” to work around challenges of not being able to meet physically. Virtual events will continue to serve as an avenue for engagement between buyers, suppliers, and industry players.
Following the launch of the ITB Community platform last year, Messe Berlin went on to host ITB Asia 2021 Virtual on the platform. It featured business scheduling functions, conferences and keynotes, and digital exhibition. ITB India 2022 will also be held in a similar hybrid format.
Need for consistency and clarity
For in-person events to truly rebound, industry players agree that there must be a consistent set of rules for global travel and a reduction in bureaucracy to clear uncertainty among travellers.
“(Having to do) some tests is not necessarily preventive to travel. I think the biggest issue is the lack of consistency, where the difficulty comes from having to check and double check the rules for each destination,” said Bauer.
The lack of consistent travel regulations hurt event planning too, pointed out Sedky.
“(We need to be) very clear on what the policies are, the protocols are, (so that) we can plan around it. The challenge we have is that rules are constantly changing and it’s not clear,” he said.
Changes to travel policies impact event organisers’ ability to determine their operation schedule and to firm up contracts with vendors, such as stand builders.
“These cannot be done with a week’s notice. Therefore, clarity of regulations, and some kind of certainty that those regulations would be in place for a period that covers the event, is needed,” Bauer explained.
Kuepper added that accurate information on “who can travel and what is needed for travel” would instil confidence in event delegates, and allow show organisers to dispense such information early and clearly.
The next steps forward
As show organisers rebuild their line-up, top priorities have now shifted to upskilling, attracting new talents, and bringing old talent back into the fold.
New talents in demand include data scientists, noted Bauer, who are critical to helping event organisers “marry the event experience with data”.
Recognising the need for continued education, IBTM World 2021’s programme will include three keynote speakers from outside the business events industry presenting on trends and technology; gamification and engagement; the future of event planning (including discussions around sustainability, safety and security and government support); and career and personal development.
According to Sedky, the industry needs to prioritise attracting talents back, as many have shifted to other roles during the pandemic.
“When you’re in the live events industry, and you don’t run events for 18 months, you lose talent. (We need to look at) how we are going to attract these talents back into the industry, as well as attracting new ones,” he said.
