Written by: Vickie Sullivan | November 03, 2020
Top Meetings and Events Trends for 2021
Like many of us, meeting planners have written off 2020. But what about 2021? Northstar Meetings Group’s recent Pulse Survey, The Future of Meetings and Events in the Era of COVID-19, answers a lot of questions. (Be sure to download the entire survey results.)
The caveats: 60% of the respondents are from corporate and association markets, with most of the meetings held in the U.S. The data was gathered between May and August 2020.
Top 3 Meetings Trends
Key findings speakers care about most:
• The #1 timeframe for rebooking cancelled events and scheduling new meetings is the second quarter 2021. Prediction: If attendance is down, watch for more events to move to the end of next year or become virtual (especially if virtual attendance is robust).
• Over one-third (34%) plan to have all online or hybrid meetings. Another 34% say more than half of the events scheduled will be online/hybrid meetings. Prediction: Hybrid events are here to stay. If you haven’t already, learn this format.
• Expect fewer meetings. Responding to life after COVID, 40% of corporate event planners and 26% of association planners say there will be fewer events over the next 18 months. Now is the time to expand your business model past speaking.
Listen: What the Northstar Survey Didn’t Address, and What to do About this Game-changing Development for Speakers
Did we know some of this already? Yep. Also, all of this will change when a COVID-19 vaccine comes out. But for now, we need to gear up for 2021.
So, if you are a thought leader who speaks at meetings and events, plan your strategy now – don’t wait until the second quarter of 2021. Get strategic about sponsors, as they are not confident right now, and prepare so you can blast off in January.
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