Nearly half of event goers (43 per cent) have been late to, or even missed, an event recently due to travel issues, according to recent research from virtual events software provider EventsX.
EventsX commissioned a poll of over 500 event goers and business decision makers, via Censuswide, to observe the barriers that event goers deal with when attending events.
The research revealed that 43 per cent of event attendees had been late to or missed an event due to travel issues, a figure which rose to 49 per cent of 45-54-year-olds who cited travel as a frequent issue for turning up late to an event, or worse, not at all.
Over half (54 per cent) of individuals have been unable to attend an event that they initially would have liked to attend simply because the event was either too difficult to get to or travel was too expensive.
Furthermore, those surveyed showed dissatisfaction towards events they had attended in the past. Over half (56 per cent) said they have previously attended a poorly organised event, whilst 44 per cent said they have actually left an event because they found it boring.
It was also found that 51 per cent of individuals had forgotten someone’s contact details after networking with them at an in-person event. This significantly increased amongst 18–24-year-olds, with 60 per cent forgetting important contact details.
Shoaib Aslam, Founder of EventsX, commented: “Attending an event should be a positive experience, whether it’s learning new information, exchanging ideas, or meeting new people, and the events industry needs to ensure this is at the core of every event.”
“All events should be accessible for attendees, and often virtual, or even hybrid events, are the best option to make sure people can attend seamlessly – whilst avoiding any unplanned travel delays. By going virtual, attendees can simply dial-in at the touch of a button, breaking down geographical barriers, which in turn boosts attendance.”
“Utilising technology to host online events can benefit beyond access, for example leveraging AI technology can increase networking capacity through speech recognition and summaries in order to record people’s contact details. This can also help people who can’t attend to stay in the loop as they can read a post event summary instead of missing out completely” he added.
Overall, the majority (53 per cent) agreed they would attend more events if they were given the option of attending online, rather than in person due to the practical and logistic benefits of ‘dialling-in’.
