Two major surveys by leading event organizer Messe Frankfurt shows, around 97 per cent of companies plan to continue participating in physical trade fairs post pandemic. The surveys polled 59,000 companies in autumn 2020 and spring 2021, reports Apparel Insider.

Though companies approved of the additional digital benefits offered by hybrid trade fair formats during the pandemic, the overwhelming finding of the surveys indicated, people prefer in-person trade fairs.

Wolfgang Marzin, President and CEO, Messe Frankfurt, said, only 3 per cent of respondents wanted to see events move entirely online. In fact, 67 per cent customers would like events to take place solely in person, with another 30 percent expressing a preference for hybrid formats. In total, 97 per cent of customers remain convinced that in-person events are an essential component of trade fairs.

Over 59,000 companies took part in the survey which included a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research.