The respondents were asked to reflect on what event owners and venues must do in order to prepare themselves
for the market in 2020. For event organizers, the main comments focused on the need to improve the use of
technology before, during and after an event to maximize the delegate experience and improve the efficiency of
their own operations and marketing. The next two most frequently raised issues were the need to innovate on
event formats and to research and act on trends in the external environment, in their target markets and in the
events industry. For venues, the need to improve the technology offered and to stay up to date or ahead of the
curve received almost four times as many comments as any other issue. A common issue was the need to provide
free broadband access as charging was considered similar to charging them for the air, electricity or water used at
the event. The following two most frequently raised issues for venues focused on the need for far greater
flexibility, firstly, at an organizational level to address changing customer needs and, secondly, in terms of how the
physical space can be configured to serve a constantly growing set of event design requirements.