Gedaan met laden. U bevindt zich op: The changing format of association events. Current attitudes and future aspirations of association executives and professional conference planners towards face-to-face, virtual en hybrid formats for international Conferences & Events.

The changing format of association events. Current attitudes and future aspirations of association executives and professional conference planners towards face-to-face, virtual en hybrid formats for international Conferences & Events.

Brochure 
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oktober 2024 
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Toerisme Vlaanderen
Historically, the standard format of international association conferences was face-to-face. Then came the Covid pandemic, and lockdown restrictions caused that Meetings and conferences could not take place face-to-face. Many organisers hurriedly learned how to hold an event virtually, which was the only alternative available. In the recovery phase, many events were organised in ‘hybrid’ format – delegates could choose to attend in person or virtually. Research conducted previously for VISITFLANDERS showed that many organisers struggled to produce hybrid events well. There was a lack of time to learn how to do it properly, and the technology was also ‘playing catch-up’. Therefore, many organisers were relieved to return to face-toface only events. However, there are now different reasons why hybrid may become the standard future format of international association conferences. Attitudes towards climate change are growing increasingly in the direction of protecting the environment, which means reducing travel, especially flying. Virtual attendance also offers delegates the benefits of saving significant time and cost of travel. Technology and expertise are improving, and so future hybrid events could be much more effective than the hurried efforts to date. VISITFLANDERS Convention Bureau believes that digital transformation will highly influence the future format of conferences and events. The Flemish conferences and events sector therefore needs to embrace this opportunity. VISITFLANDERS, together with partners in the sector, has developed be.digital.flanders, an initiative to assist organisers, venues and service providers to give state of the art experiences to both virtual and in-person delegates attending hybrid conferences hosted in Flanders. This will accelerate the drive towards Flanders becoming a sustainable conference destination. Researching the needs of the market VISITFLANDERS knows that organisers vary in their attitudes towards hybrid events, with some embracing the format and others wishing to stay well away from it. Research was needed to understand the views and experiences of organisers and delegates towards hybrid format in greater detail to inform the development of be.digital.flanders’ activities. SRI, an independent market research agency based in Cardiff, UK, was commissioned to undertake the research on behalf of VISITFLANDERS.
Uitgever
Publicatiedatum
Oktober 2024
Publicatietype
Brochure
Thema's
Toerisme en vrije tijd
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