Global business event participant demand research turns positive as vaccine distribution commences

PCMA released an executive summary of the December 2020 update to Business Events Compass, an actionable framework of insights and strategies for business event professionals and their business partners for the pandemic and beyond. Takeaways from the updated research include:

• Recovery is coming: Twenty-eight percent of business event survey respondents now expect a greater than ten percent increase in their 2021 face-to-face business event participation, relative to 2019 levels. This compares to ten percent in October. In Asia-Pacific, 39 percent of participants expect a ten percent or greater increase in 2021 face-to-face participation. Comparables for the Americas and EMEA are twenty-three percent and twenty-four percent respectively.
• Digital event preferences are growing: As the pandemic continues, participants are becoming more comfortable with digital platforms as a viable option. Thirty percent of participants reported that a key reason for their expected change in face-to-face participation was that they “prefer digital events.” This compares to 18 percent in October and likely reflects continued improvements in digital event technology and available provider partners.

“Compass now points to a light at the end of the tunnel,” said PCMA president and CEO Sherrif Karamat, CAE. “And business events will be a vital part of the restoration of economic and social well-being in a post-pandemic world. It won’t be easy, and it won’t be the same but our role in bringing people and ideas together to create opportunities will be foundational”