Hybrid events have been a new experience to come out of the pandemic which will allow live and virtual gatherings to take place at the same time. Convention centres are looking forward to adapting and trying new experiences which could make business travel even more sustainable.
“This means we are making progress in the city and the province in terms of getting a handle on the Covid-19 situation. The impact on business events has made us aware of some positive and negative aspects. Some of the positive aspects are that we are forced to do things in a smarter way and this encourages hybrid events. This will allow the industry to be more accessible to people who may not have the capacity to travel.
“It also results in losing quite a lot of revenue when going into reducing capacities in venues. It might be a short-term tragedy right now in terms of how much money we're losing, but it is imperative we are responsible enough to secure the long-term sustainability of our industry by continuing to build a very strong forward book,” she said.
Cape Town and Western Cape Convention Bureau and Best Cities Global Alliance chairperson Corné Koch said various destinations were performing strategies to relaunch their events.