What will live events look like after the COVID-19 pandemic has passed? The coronavirus that has shut down the live events industry is likely to have some lasting impacts even after cases and concerns decline.
Attendees may prefer smaller events, with more physical space; the “social distancing” habit will take time to break. There will likely be less interest in activities that involve any kind of direct physical contact—even shaking hands.
But once the pandemic is behind us, some of the big trends predicted for the industry in late 2019 and early 2020 will regain importance. Real action on sustainability was predicted to be one of the biggest trends if not the biggest change for events this year, before coronavirus.
Research by PromoLeaf, conducted in February just before the industry shutdown, strongly supports that. The PromoLeaf study found that 60% of respondents prefer attending conferences hosted using sustainable practices, with more than a quarter strongly preferring such conferences.
Here are more key findings from the research.
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