Monday Insights – January 17th

This Monday Insights feature brings you the industry headlines you may have missed, and they’re all favourable for venues, meetings, and events this week!

Headlines

Travellers from the UK who are fully vaccinated are now allowed back into France for the first time since December 18th 2021, without the need to provide a compelling reason for travel or isolate on arrival.

Travellers need to provide a negative Covid test result from a lateral flow or PCR test that is taken 24 hours prior to departure.

Furthermore, from today – January 17th 2022, visitors will need to have been fully vaccinated – including a booster jab (if their second dose was administered over seven months prior)- to access most indoor venues.

At EDGE, we’re already seeing travel companies reporting increased bookings for flights to France. And while it’s excellent news for UK business travellers, it’s also solid advice to continue checking Foreign Office travel advice!

The number of people who can participate in an outdoors event in Wales increased from 50 to 500 from January 15th. 

As case rates decline, the Welsh Government says more restrictions can be eased over the next two weeks, and back to alert level zero and minimal restrictions by January 28th.

From January 21st, all outdoor activities will move to alert level zero, meaning there will be no limits on the number of people who can participate in outdoor activities. Outdoor hospitality will operate in the way they would have earlier in the pandemic, which means they can stop offering table service only, for example. Covid passes will still be needed.

This news is excellent for Welsh venues and events and comes in time for the Six Nations, with crowds able to return to sporting events.

From today – 17th January 2022 – Covid restrictions on the number of people allowed at outdoor events across Scotland are lifted. As with Wales, this comes in time for the Six Nations, with matches at Murrayfield able to operate at capacity. The only proviso is showing evidence of vaccination or a recent negative lateral flow test before you can access large-scale events. Organisers of events with over 1,000 delegates are expected to check the Covid status of at least 50% per cent of those arriving at venues.

However, restrictions on indoor sports, events and venues remain, while Nicola Sturgeon is apparently ‘hopeful’ that those restrictions on indoor events can be lifted on January 24th.

Double take

etc.venues says 2022 will be the year of meeting up. Its research shows 97% of event planners are increasingly inclined to meet in person, with 70% saying they want to meet colleagues face-to-face more often in 2022. The insights form part of the fourth etc.venues biannual survey into latest industry thinking. 

Adam Simpson, etc. venues’ Director of Marketing said: “While virtual and hybrid are here to stay for the foreseeable future, the driving urge among event planners to return to live only events continues to grow as their appreciation of their value increases now that they have started to go back to them. We think 2022 will be the year of meeting up.”

These insights show an increasingly positive outlook for events for 2022. You can read more of the research results on Business Travel News Europe.