At Unlocked we've started 2022 with hope, anticipation and excitement. We certainly have a spring in our step as we believe that 2022 is the year of in-person events.

We've been in the pandemic for over two years now and there have been lot's of changes including how we've all adapted to virtual events and focused on sustainability. Lot's of the trends for 2022 reflect these changes and below we've detailed those we are most excited about and why these trends are important:

Events now need to be more meaningful than ever in order to incentivise attendance. Now that most of us have experienced virtual events, we understand what content we can view from the comfort of our homes. Business travel is also on the decline, so it’s important that attendees can find concrete reasons to attend an event and get budget sign off for their travel.

A big pull for attending an event in-person is networking. Planners need to be continually finding new ways to bring their attendees together, team building activities are the perfect way to do this.

Once upon a time, handing out event swag at an event was a good way to leave a lasting legacy, now we should all be a lot less wasteful and more environmentally conscious. Instead of swag, offer experiences that will leave a lasting memory.

Over the pandemic many city dwellers decided to escape to the country. This was for many reason including cleaner air, more open space (more covid safe), to save on costs and to be in idyllic settings. These same points can be a draw for attending and planning an event in the country. We’re seeing more and more enquiries for outside of the capital. If you’re an office worker in the big city, escaping to the countryside for an event can be a great incentive.

Corporate travel is on the decline and two main reasons for this are to reduce environmental impacts and to save on costs. This year we expect to see a lot less long haul travel, particularly for incentive trips. With international conferences, it can be hard to reduce travel due to the wide geographical demographics of attendees.

We’re already seeing many clients that would usually host trips to North America, now hosting them in European destinations. We are also finding that more and more clients are sticking to locations within the UK rather than Europe; Brexit being one reason for this, and the ever changing covid restrictions another.

Okay, so we’ve heard this so many times now, but it’s so true and it is crucial that planners embrace the hybrid future. It was always going to happen and the pandemic really catalysed this next revolution in events. Hosting a hybrid event makes your event more accessible, opens up audiences in new geographical regions and also means that those that are unable to justify travel costs can still attend your event.

Hopefully you're as excited for the next year as we are. At unlocked we provide a full event planning and supplier sourcing service and cater to all types of corporate events. Over this next year, we’ll be taking these industry trends into account and will have a heavy focus on organising meaningful and sustainably conscious events in some of the worlds most awe inspiring destinations. Get in touch for more info.