The number of events hosted on Bizzabo’s event platform increased by 52 per cent in the first half of the year, with ‘smaller, regional’ meetings behind most of the growth.
There was a 60 per cent growth in regional meetings with fewer than 150 registrations, with customers typically hosting nine or ten meetings a year in this category.
For all events, organisations with more than 2,500 employers hosted an average of 16 events between January and May, a 52.4 per cent increase compared to 2023.
Mid-market organisations, those with between 1,000-2,499 employees, hosted an average of 11 events, a 112 per cent jump on the same period last year, Bizzabo said.
In-person events grew 40.3 per cent overall in the first five months of 2024, while the number of virtual events remained consistent, declining 0.8 per cent.
Smaller events drive year-round engagement
Regional events are essential to the trend toward holistic, year-round event portfolios, said Bizzabo’s CEO Alon Alroy.
“Bizzabo’s report validates the growing trend toward complementing conference-style events with intimate experiences designed to engage regional audiences year-round,” he said.
While January, February, and March are not traditionally part of the “spring events season,” there was a 54.8 per cent increase in in-person events held on Bizzabo in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 compared to Q1 2023. In January alone, events increased by 84.5 per cent. Enterprise companies held an average of 6 smaller in-person events, a 76.5 per cent increase compared to Q1 2023. Meanwhile, mid-market organisations held an average of seven smaller in-person events, a 217.4 per cent increase