Meetings and Events Industry News

The recent Consumer Electronics Show had some of the most comprehensive health and safety measures ever provided by an event of its size. But CES' failure to report the number of Covid cases detected in Las Vegas is drawing criticism and raising an important question for planners about whether events have an obligation to report.

With travel restrictions varying from country to country and week to week, planners have to consider multiple factors when managing business trips. Are their needs and expectations being met? A GBTA survey tried to find out.

Recently, event safety has focused on Covid compliance for in-person and hybrid events. But with the increasing number of virtual events, little has been done to address the topic of virtual event safety — and no, we aren't referring to data security. 

Taiwan’s low-case numbers mean that it has in some ways been an oasis of normalcy during the pandemic, but those low rates are in part thanks to travel restrictions that have limited intervention business visitors. How is the local event industry faring? 

Event planners may be more familiar with event tech than ever, but the rapid pace of innovation means that tech literacy is a moving target. To understand what planners need from event tech in 2022, we spoke to some of today’s most influential event professionals.

The event industry is talking about introducing a policy of acknowledging the current climate emergency in opening remarks at gatherings worldwide. Why so much more is needed.

Over a 10-year period to 2020, LinkedIn took its annual revenue from $243 million to $8 billion — and it now boasts close to 800 million users. Now that it’s launching its own event platform, will it quickly dominate the space?

Event tech investment records tumbled in 2021, with major players making moves while riding high from massive valuations. As the year went on, mergers and acquisitions started to consolidate the market, something we expect to see more of in 2022.

Established event players MeetingPlay and Aventri will merge, helped by an undisclosed investment from two private equity firms, the companies announced Thursday. The deal marks the latest in a wave of consolidation driven by the demand for hybrid and virtual event capabilities.

CES is being held in person for the first time in two years, but the move is proving divisive. Critics have called for its cancelation while major exhibitors have pulled out — yet 40,000 to 60,000 visitors and over 2,200 exhibitors are voting yes with their feet.