New research has revealed that the majority of business events have already cancelled, postponed or moved to become fully virtual for the first quarter of 2021.
The Business Events Council of Australia (BECA) recently conducted a short survey of Australian business events owners and organisers to better understand the state of events for next year.
The survey, which attracted 149 responses, found the number one barrier being faced by both owners and organisers in 2021 is uncertainty around future outbreaks and the tightening of travel restrictions, closely followed by financial risk.
The survey highlighted that a majority of business events have already cancelled, postponed or moved to 100 per cent virtual for the first quarter of 2021 – 62 per cent by organisers and 30 per cent by owners (a theme that unfortunately continues into the second quarter).
By July, event organisers predicted that 40 per cent of events will likely by hybrid, with owners placing the figure closer to 50 per cent at 49.
However, come October, event organisers said 49 per cent of business events would likely be 100 per cent in person, with owners saying they predicted it would be 43 per cent.
Featured image source: iStock.com/Chinnapong
