ANOTHER JAB CLOSER onfidence is coursing through the veins of the conference and meetings industry , much like the vaccine for which we all owe our thanks .
With every inoculation administered by the NHS , another delegate will be safer at our events – assuming , of course , all goes to plan .
In the days and weeks that followed the prime minister ’ s roadmap announcement , venues and agencies reported a huge surge in enquires . Indeed , etc . venues said it received £ 2m worth of enquiries within 24 hours , and Julia Charles Event Management said £ 420,000 worth of event projects came in at the same time . How much of this translates to actual bookings remains to be seen , but one thing is certain : the demand is there .
In this issue , we want to embrace this confidence , save for one line of caution : the two-stage reopening dates of 17 May and 21 June are conditional , and there is always a chance we could face delays . Various polls and surveys reveal a trickle of events are expected to go ahead this summer , but there is a clear spike in activity from September .
It stands to reason , then , that outdoor events will be a happy halfway house during the summer months as restrictions lift and delegates look to get back into face-to-face environments . This issue includes tips and advice from Oddity Events ( p22 ) and corporate commentary from Venues and Events International ( p27 ). VisitEngland also chimes in with a look at how technical innovation will encourage a confident restart and offer a flavour of what venues with large outdoor spaces are available ( p11 ).
Elsewhere in this issue , we hear from new regular contributor Robert Kenward on all matters recruitment ( p40 ) and , thanks to corporate event manager Juliet Tripp , learn more ( p38 ) about what the industry wants from its own events .
We have had a couple of false starts over the last year , but this time it really does feel we are on the glidepath to recovery .
With every passing day we are another jab closer .
Martin Fullard Editor Conference News www . conference-news . co . uk