More than 1,200 event professionals gathered at MPI’s World Education Congress at CAESARS FORUM last week, the largest in-person industry event so far this year. While attendance was about half of pre-pandemic levels, the large showing is another shot in the arm for an industry recovering from essentially a lost year of business.

Business travel appears to be still stuck in quarantine as Americans begin returning to pre-pandemic levels for vacations and road trips. If this trend continues, meetings and events may not see a full recovery from COVID-19 until 2023 or 2024.

The city of Detroit is about to become the launchpad for a host of new B2B and B2C events. The June 7 announcement follows the formation of a new partnership between New York-based MAD Event Management and Messe Düsseldorf North America, which plans to launch and incubate new conferences and shows in the Motor City with the support and under the guidance of the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau leadership.

With so many people across the world facing a plethora of mental and emotional challenges, we’ve come to understand in no uncertain terms how stress can negatively impact our performance, both personally and professionally. 

Optimism about the events industry is transforming from anecdotal to data-driven. A new report from Freeman, which has been tracking attendees’ temperatures about returning to face-to-face gatherings for the better part of a year, shows the strongest signs yet that the great recovery may happen sooner than later.

While virtual aspects of shows won’t disappear with COVID-19, the eighth iteration of Freeman’s research since the pandemic began shows the highest willingness yet to attend live events. Key findings include:

Want to see the progression of corporate events in the past six months? Just track what LeAnn Koenig, vice operations of operations at Vertical Xchange, has experienced.

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak is aiming for the state’s many hospitality and events venues to allow 100% capacity by June 1. The welcome news is well-timed, as Las Vegas has an increasingly full slate of events scheduled starting this summer, many of which were predicated on allowing large crowds indoors.

Las Vegas is back with a vengeance. That was the message at the conventions and hospitality industry panel held March 8 at the brand new West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, marking Global Meetings Industry Day. 

Always a great opportunity to celebrate the importance of face-to-face gatherings big and small, Global Meetings Industry Day takes on added significance this year. Just as last year’s all-virtual celebration was a reflection of the pandemic’s beginnings, planned meetings this Thursday, April 8, offer a preview of the future.

On March 24, New York’s Javits Center hit an important milestone for the health of its community. Since opening its doors on Jan. 13 as a mass COVID-19 vaccination site, the Manhattan convention center has distributed more than 250,000 vaccines at the record rate of more than 14,000 per day.