Slowly but surely the world is making progress towards feeling more “normal”. With vaccine rollouts and reduced covid-19 cases, we are also seeing the return of live business events. 

It may be a while before the threat of covid-19 abates. However, there are many ways that we can make attending business events safer. We know you are ready to get back into action, that’s why we’re taking a look at tips for safe trips, and tools you can use to travel smarter and safely meet in person. We’ll also discuss the future of business events, and what you can expect from them. 

Tips For Keeping Safe At A Business Event 

It’s doubtful that covid-19 safety practices will decline at any time soon. In fact, it’s possible that even after the pandemic, people will remain cognizant of these practices and precautions. Nevertheless, while the pandemic is still ongoing, and business events begin to pick up, it’s imperative to remain safe. 

By now, most people should have formed good habits to protect themselves from contracting the coronavirus. These are the basics that you need to have down to protect yourself, whether you’re simply going across town, or travelling around the globe for a business event.  

The excitement around a business event might lead attendees to forget some of the safety measures we’ve learned over the past year. But we’re here to remind you of their importance, especially in the context of a business event. Here are some basic tips for safely attending events. 

Hygiene 

Washing your hands using soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitiser ensures that your hands are germ-free. However, it might not be possible to do this every second of the day while travelling or at an event. As such, you should avoid touching your face – particularly your nose and mouth. 

Hand-shaking 

Attending events may make you feel obliged to shake some hands. This is not advisable. You should continue to practise social distancing as much as you can while attending an event. Maintain a distance of 2 metres between you and other people. If you must come into physical contact with somebody then opt for the elbow-bump

Masks 

Wearing a face mask has also become commonplace. A medical mask or face mask of any kind is not always required in every travel destination. However, when it comes to attending busy business events, the practice is highly recommended. There are guidelines to follow on how to properly wear a mask and how to remove it, which you can read more about here. 

Self Tests

Having a self-test kit in your luggage is a very smart idea. Do self-tests occasionally during the event and definitely before you return home to your beloved ones. This makes you feel confident that you are well and not risking someone’s life.

Research

As part of your preparation for attending any events, you should do your research. Find out what safety protocols the event has in place to protect attendees. If there are no details available, then you should contact the event organizer to find out. 

Further, it is important that you consider the regulations of the country that the business event is in. Some countries require you to present results of a covid test before you enter, and others are not allowing visitors at all. 

If covid test results are required for entry into the country, then you should ensure that you have been tested within two weeks before leaving home for the event. 

Travelling Smarter

In general, travelling can be stressful even under the best circumstances. There is usually a lot of admin involved in ensuring that things run smoothly. Travelling for business reasons, of course, has the added pressure of work. Throw in a pandemic and you have got yourself quite the conundrum. 

But fear not, there are ways to make life a little easier so that you can focus on the things you can control. We call this, “travelling smarter”. Travelling smarter in this context means finding ways to make travelling easier, more efficient, and even a little greener. Altogether, this will help you to be safer too! 

Technology For Contactless Travel

Mobile technology is ubiquitous in today’s society. Smartphones, tablets and computers are everywhere and public wifi makes it easy to stay connected. What this means if you’re travelling, is that everything you need to arrange a trip is at your disposal with just a few taps. Make sure that you take advantage of the technology available. These will offer protection and serve as a great convenience.

Take EnterAnGo, for example. This platform allows you to plan an entire trip by simply inputting your departure address and your destination. Not only does it find and allow you to book your transportation (whether by plane, train or bus) but it also serves as a planner, and ensures that you’re travelling sustainably! But how does this keep you safe when travelling to a business event? That’s simple – contactless travel.

Platforms like EnterAnGo can help you do everything from the comfort of your mobile phone. You won’t have to buy the plane, train or bus tickets in person. This means that you can avoid unnecessary personal contact, and we all know that this is one of the most important rules for lowering the transmission of the virus. As such, your travelling becomes a bit safer.

Similarly, your tickets will be scannable. Avoiding printed tickets means that you don’t pass your tickets to flight attendants or airport employees, and this means you will avoid catching anything they may be carrying.

The Reality Of Post-Covid Business Events

As we mentioned before, it’s likely that the safety measures brought on to reduce the transmission of covid-19 will remain long after the pandemic has ended. As a result, conducting business and meeting in person will forever be changed. However, operations must continue, and this includes business events.

The tips and tricks above are helpful for you as an individual. They help you to protect yourself when you’re travelling. Now, we’ll guide you through the aspects of attending business events that are out of your control and we’ll talk about what you should expect from them in the future.

Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid

When people around the globe were ordered to stay home and lockdowns were put in place, event companies suddenly had no work. As businesses themselves they had to adapt and ensure that any events going forward included protocols to ensure the safety of attendees. This should serve as reassurance for those considering attending business events.

Much hard work has gone into creating safe spaces for event attendees. Anyone organising an event is now obliged to ensure that:

• The number of attendees is not too high
• There are sanitisers available
• Attendees are social distancing
• Catering is safe and sanitary
• No unnecessary resources like pamphlets and lanyards are handed out

These precautions mean that events will be quite safe. As long as you confirm that the event you will be attending has these in place, you can rest assured.

What Else To Expect

Some events may continue as they usually would, but with the added protection mentioned above. Other events, however, may change things up due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic. You should be prepared for this. For instance, it is likely that many events will still be semi-virtual, with some attendees joining via the internet. You should be prepared to network under these circumstances, just in case.

In addition, you may experience a new trend called curated networking. Here, event organizers will match attendees with similar careers or professional backgrounds in order to keep interpersonal contact to a low. This may limit your ability to network widely, but it is a precaution that will keep you safe!

Closing Thoughts

After months of working from home and attending meetings and conferences online, we’re sure you’re ready to get back into the real world. This is especially true since networking in person is much more effective.

The world is slowly working its way back to normal. While the coronavirus will still be with us for years to come, there are ways for us to live normally and travel safely. Hopefully, this guide has shown you that if you take the right precautions and implement the best methods, you can attend business events as usual!

So don’t miss out on the networking opportunities presented to you in the coming months.

Do you have already experience with business events since COVID? What additional measures would you expect? What would you help to feel really safe?

Please share your thoughts in the comments below.