Industry experts share the latest thinking at Cvent Accelerate Sydney

Sydney July 24, 2024 - Cvent, an industry-leading meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider, has concluded its third edition of Cvent Accelerate in Sydney, where technology’s role in catapulting growth was front and centre. 

The 341 attendees were challenged to think how they are currently using data and additional ways to unlock its potential, particularly across marketing, in scaling event planning and execution, and how to utilise data-backed analytics to develop strong strategies and increase return on investment from events. 

Other topics covered were artificial intelligence and how businesses within events and hospitality can effectively leverage the latest innovations to streamline processes and maximise resources.

The high attendance reflects the sentiment of the industry that in-person events are back, with 47% of event planners expecting face to face event demand to increase[1].

Jack Ukil, Head of Cvent Australia, emphasised, "Australia's events industry continues to thrive, garnering global acclaim for its international conferences, incentive events, venues, and exhibitions. 

“Event professionals are leading the charge in adopting cutting-edge technology to enhance efficiencies across the event lifecycle, from procurement to post-event stages. This momentum is fuelled by a robust desire for expansion and increased event-driven revenue.

“Cvent Accelerate is about uniting our community to explore innovations and challenge conventional event strategies. Engaging with numerous professionals across events, hospitality, and marketing has been incredibly insightful, offering diverse perspectives that inspire new possibilities not only for us at Cvent, but for the events industry as a whole,” said Ukil.

Industry experts discussed event retention, planning and management, technology and how access to data can further support sustainability goals. Leading innovators shared transformative ideas on using attendee foot traffic to generate power for events, and outcomes from experimenting with aeroponics and reducing food waste. 

Cvent Accelerate Sydney significantly contributed to environmental conservation with 294 trees to be planted in a mangrove reforestation site in Mozambique, 48,081 Kgs of C02e to be reduced through investments in United Nations Certified Emission Reduction renewable energy projects and 90% of attendees travelling locally.

Nico Nicholas, CEO, Trees4Events – Zeero – Trees4Travel, Cvent's sustainability partner said: “Sustainability is essential to the fabric of all events, leaders need to inspire positive change, educate, reduce and mitigate the impact of events. 

“Events provide a prime opportunity for organisations to demonstrate their values and put words into action. Advanced technology allows us to track and understand the impact of events on our environment. We can use this information to implement better practices to reduce our carbon footprint,” said Nicholas.

In its third year, Cvent Accelerate continued the important conversations for event professionals, and provided a platform for greater collaboration between venues, organisers and suppliers.