Association meeting attendee numbers worldwide 2020, by status
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit the meeting industry hard in 2020. That year, emergency measures and travel restrictions implemented globally during the health crisis caused most events to be rescheduled, canceled, or held digitally. According to a 2021 study focusing on international association meetings worldwide, around 1.56 million attendees in this sector were scheduled to attend events that were postponed in 2020. Meanwhile, roughly 1.51 million attendees participated in virtual events, and 44.5 thousand attended hybrid meetings.