Research by BMA House amongst buyers and delegates during April 2020, has highlighted significant shifts in approach towards face to face meetings going forward. 73% of meeting organisers confirmed they intend to increase online meetings going forward, this change was reflected in delegate opinion 89% of which said their online meeting attendance would increase.
The research also shows that hybrid meetings are expected to increase, with 45% of meeting organisers saying they will increase their use of hybrid formats. Supporting this, 31% of delegates who said their attendance at hybrid events were likely to increase.
In recognition of the need for people to develop relationships, 61% of organisers and 44% of attendees said they would like to see an increase in the social and networking elements of their events. However, worryingly for the face to face meetings sector – 39% of organisers intend to reduce their face to face meetings, whilst 55% of delegates said their face to face attendance would reduce. Just 3% of organisers and 0% of delegates expect face to face to increase.