The Future of the Events Industry

Once upon a time not so very long ago, you were able to jump in your car or on an airplane and go somewhere exciting, perhaps even a brand new location for a refreshing change of scenery. You felt free, inspired and alive! 

And then.......

And now, all of this seems a long distant past, and the future as we know it has changed, possibly forever. In South Africa yesterday we were downgraded to level 3 lock-down and a lot of people returned to work. However for tourism and many other industries it is going to be a long road to recovery. 

Nowadays when we go to the shop for mere basic groceries and supplies, it looks like a scene from some futuristic Sci-Fi movie. The scene is set with people walking around with masks, the maddening crowds are gone, the roads and skies are quiet. Humanity is facing challenges that we have never experienced before in history. The pandemic has brought the world to its knees, and while we don’t fully understand it, we do feel that it has a deeper spiritual meaning, which we can’t get our heads around in any logical way. 

However, humanity is resilient, and we will overcome these challenges, we will do what we have to in order to survive. Business models are changing fast and work will be conducted very differently from now on. For us in the events industry the long road to recovery is challenging, but we will persevere, pick up the pieces and start again.

So to all my friends, colleagues and competitors in the event industry in South Africa and beyond, I strongly believe the time for collaboration is now stronger than ever before. It’s time to put our selfish agenda’s aside, and help pick each other up. It’s about supporting each other and not fighting for shrinking market share. It’s about being real and transparent. The time is now.