New Survey Finds 88 Percent of Attendees Are Open to In-Person Events

2. Convince Me — concerned about COVID risk, but open to attending if the event provides high value. Nearly one-quarter (24 percent) were in this camp.

3. Open Hall — moderately concerned about COVID. Those willing to engage in personal restrictions but didn’t want set meetings or limited meeting times were equal in number (24 percent) to the Convince Me’s.

4. We Can Do This — Low-to-moderate COVID concern, wanting evidence of both personal mitigation and structural changes. Seventeen percent of respondents identified with this sentiment.

5. What Virus? Low COVID concern, would like shows to proceed as normal. Twenty-three percent were wide open to returning to physical events.

Adding up the Numbers

In total, 88 percent of respondents, GES said, are open to attending shows in person. The majority — 65 percent — demand some form of mitigation in order to attend, while 23 percent do not.

It is now more important than ever, the survey results indicate, to design your show to customer segments and mitigation needs. The company’s recommendations include:

Review your attendee base to identify your show’s core customer segments and design to their needs.

Recognize that certain shows may have higher or lower COVID concerns on average — such as a health-care congress versus a retail trade show.

Balance considerations between constituents who may have conflicting views of acceptable practices at shows. For example, design your show schedule to accommodate low- and high-risk visitors and consider education activities that can be separated and possibly made digital. In addition, show changes can include visiting exhibitors by appointment, spacing and crowd management, limiting duration of meeting times, staggering and streamline attendance.

Guest Blogger:  Michelle Russell is editor in chief of Convene.  https://www.pcma.org/attendees-ready-live-events-ges-survey/