Hybrid Events

After 18 months of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, the global events and exhibitions industry has had some time to experiment and adapt their strategies – and things are looking up. Surveys suggest that by the last quarter of 2021, most people will be comfortable attending in-person events if safety precautions are taken and numbers are controlled.

Should you charge a registration fee to attend your virtual event? How do you price tickets for online events? If your content has value, should it be given away? And if an event is free, is the perception of value lost? The debate is on.

Before the COVID19 pandemic live events, exhibitions, conferences and seminars were a major source of revenue. Now, virtual events are the new normal. While most are still free, monetizing them will become necessary to make them sustainable. To Fee or Free will be less of an option with the rise of hybrid events. After all, how can you charge in-person guests but not your remote attendees?

Keep reading for an overview of what to expect, as well as how to approach ideation and strategy in your event marketing - this year, and beyond. 

Coming in first place in the region in terms of events has usually been the United Arab Emirates; more specifically in the popular Dubai and Abu Dhabi areas. The small country hosts the most events in the region on a per capita basis. The Saudi government decided to jump onto this bandwagon.