What sort of future does the conference industry have?

“I’m devastated,” says Mike Walker, managing director of MGN Events.

The company went from generating millions of pounds in revenue to near zero in just weeks, because of lockdowns.

“Over 10 years of hard work building the company up from nothing, reinvesting each year for growth, taken away cruelly in the space of a couple of weeks, with no clarity on when the industry can resume,” Mr Walker says.

Thousands of others in the events industry will be facing the same uncertainty. The pandemic has completely shattered a huge sector, and many businesses are struggling to survive. According to a 2018 report, business events alone are a $1.5 trillion (£1.2tn)industry globally.

That’s without considering the huge number of consumer events, exhibitions, experiences and weddings.

All of these events rely on people turning up in person, and that is not currently possible with some venues closed or at a reduced capacity, and with travel restrictions in place – not to mention various other safety precautions required at the venue itself.

“Even if you hold an event in a larger venue, if you have delegates flying in and staying in the hotel, and one person tests positive for Covid-19, then you’re going to get a call from the hotel telling you they’re going to have to give the venue a deep clean and shut it down,” says Steve Parrott, co-founder of Alternative Events.

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That kind of scenario is why companies are being forced to look at technology as the alternative, with virtual events becoming the norm throughout lockdown.

Most businesses have turned to technology that has become familiar for many people – video conferencing software from Zoom or MS Teams.

However, these technologies were around before the pandemic, and while they offer an alternative, they do not provide the same level of engagement as physical events.