In June, we asked Event Industry professionals & owners around the world to report on the COVID-19 impact on the industry. The results show a clear disruption as most event businesses have been negatively impacted by the virus. That said, not everyone has been hit hard; some are even enjoying gains from this pandemic, especially if their business was equipped for digital or virtual events.
Note: Survey responses were collected over a five-week period beginning May 17, 2020. Sixteen responses were collected in total. Thirty-seven percent of businesses are located in the US and 25% in Canada. The rest of the responses came from the following countries: India, Sweden, UK, UAE & Saudi Arabia.
This report is a snapshot in time amid a constantly changing situation. Below is the breakdown of the responses and where they came from:
US (37.5%)
Canada (25%)
Sweden (6.25%)
UAE (6.25%)
India (12.5%)
UK (6.25%)
Saudi Arabia (6.25%)
Impact On Demand For Events
We start with a question about how the demand for your services has been impacted by COVID-19. Most businesses reported answers ranging from near-total disaster to a slightly negative impact, which is no surprise. Only 1 respondent reported a very positive impact on their business, due to being in the virtual events space.
What Has The Government’s Reaction Been?
In this question, we asked how the government has reacted to the situation in the respondent’s country. These numbers were relatively evenly distributed between people being content with the government’s response and others being very disappointed with how the situation has unfolded in their cities.
Impact On Financial Projections
We asked how financial forecasts have been impacted. These numbers are bleak, with most respondents predicting revenue loss of somewhere between 50 - 75%. One respondent’s business had come out on top due to being in the virtual events space.
The vast majority of businesses in the events industry are facing an uphill battle with regard to income loss. During the easing of restrictions in various cities and countries, events will almost certainly be one of the last activities to return to some sort of normality. This might only occur when there is a vaccine freely available.
Other Tactics Event Businesses Have Used to Combat COVID-19
Event businesses across the board also deployed these tactics in response to the COVID-19:
Improved and updated communications on the company website.
Communicated new updates and insights via the company’s social media channels.
Provided safety training and upskilling to staff and contractors.
Applied for government support programs.
Changed the tools that are used to operate and communicate.
Been forced into laying-off or furloughing staff.
Implemented extra hygiene steps in the office and for smaller events that are still running.
Pivoted to a different business or product temporarily.
As discovered in the research, there has been a breadth and depth of tactics that companies and sole traders have used to negate the effects of COVID-19 on their business, helping them to survive this period of prolonged industry turbulence.
What Are Event Customers Asking?
Finally, we asked event businesses what the most common questions are they’ve received from customers related to COVID-19. Here are the responses:
How can we get a refund on our event?
Can we postpone or reschedule our event?
Are you still open for business?
When do you think the pandemic will be over?
How will events function and what will they look like in the new world?
Will you be open this year?
What is the best way forward?
Will events ever be safe again?
What hygiene protocols have you installed to deal with COVID-19?
How will you continue to create engaging content and events with COVID-19?
When will venues reopen?
Can we move our events to online?
Final Word
As an event-based business ourselves, we are riding the wave of COVID-19 just like the respondents in our survey are. We have pivoted to get ready for the new normal and are in talks with a variety of partners to focus on both virtual events and physical events that are COVID-19 compliant.
If you would like to get in touch to discuss this research or have any other questions, please reach out to Exhibau’s CEO - Patrick Wallain at patrick@exhibau.com and book in for a no obligation chat about the industry and where we think it is heading.
From everyone at the Exhibau team, keep safe.