How can the events industry use VR technology to cope with COVID-19?

The mask of uncertainty

The recent coronavirus outbreak has thrown almost all major industries across the world into total disarray.

However, the event industry is expected to bear the brunt of the blow due to the pandemic.

In a bid to contain the virus from spreading any further, most cities across the globe have gone into lockdown.

People have been asked to avoid public places and large gatherings and have been advised to not go out unless necessary.

Malls, shopping complexes, theaters and stadiums have been shut down, significantly messing up scheduled events.

And not just local events, meetings and conferences.

Even global events like concerts, sporting events and even cultural events have been postponed indefinitely, or even cancelled.

Coachella, NBA, UEFA European Championship, St. Patrick’s Day parade – all postponed due to coronavirus.

This is undoubtedly a nightmare situation for anyone in the event management industry.

However, this has given the opportunity for event industry professionals to find innovative solutions to the problem.

And the VR technology has the potential to be the best of the lot.

How can VR technology be beneficial for the event industry (and even the world)?

With the coronavirus situation changing daily, VR technology has the potential to connect people without the risk of spreading the virus.

Instead of cancelling events and losing money, adopting virtual reality technology for your event can help you host your event successfully right now.

Not only will that protect your earnings but also prepare you to deal with any future such scenarios.

And HTC is already setting the trend by hosting the HTC Vive Ecosystem Conference entirely in virtual reality.

Hosting events with the help of VR technology can have the following benefits:

1. Virtual attendance

Since people across the world are now restricted to their homes or avoiding crowded places and events, no one will be able to physically attend any event.

However, an event powered by VR technology can allow people to have the same immersive experience at their homes as they would have had at the event venue.

Attendees can tune in remotely using their device of choice and using VR headsets to watch the livestream of the event.

2. Removing attendance limits

Many potential attendees miss out on your events as there are only a limited number of tickets that get sold out within seconds.

As the number of tickets available for an event is often dictated by the size of the venue, this severely restricts your revenue potential.

However, virtual events have no limit to the number of attendees and can thus allow you to draw even more customers.

3. Replaying sessions

Many potential attendees may skip your event due to busy schedules, but desperately wanted to attend it.

Some may have missed some significant part of the event and want to see what everyone’s talking about.

Or there may be a fraction of your attendees who want to relive certain parts of the event.

Either ways, your patrons may want to see the event after it’s conducted for a variety of reasons.

By going digital, your attendees will have the option to participate in the event anytime and from anyplace.

They can watch the event multiple times and pause, rewind, skip and even save parts of the recorded event.

4. Reduce environmental impact

Locals as well as people from different cities and even countries may attend your events.

And their attendance results in them using transportation methods like cars, planes and trains to commute.

As these make use of fossil fuels, your event indirectly contributes to the global pollution and emissions.

However, a virtual event can ensure that the impact of your event on the environment is minimized as much as possible.

Conclusion

In light of the current situation, the benefits of VR for the event industry seem more relevant than before.

And the quickest way you can get on board with this technology is by using an event management app with a VR-plugin.

If you are in the event management industry and have not yet adopted an event management app, then you should get one developed at the earliest.

And we can help you with that

Idea Usher is a pioneering web-app development company with years of experience in building robust, scalable, and innovative technology solutions.

Our tech-enthusiastic programmers have hands-on knowledge of VR technology.

And together with our designers and testers, they can create powerful event management apps that can help you seamlessly transition to the virtual world.

Get in touch to get free quotes.