Cameron Roberts, editor, Conference News, details a new survey that aims to delve deep into how organisers are catering for the increasing number of delegates that are choosing not to drink at events.
For as long as I can remember alcohol at events has been the norm, with many a delegate and organisers alike unwinding with a beer or wine in hand. But over the last year or so, the number of people who don’t drink, or who choose to not drink, has become more visible to me.
My thoughts on this started when I attended a session run by Narmeen Kamran, event producer, Momentum Worldwide; and Laura Willoughby, co-founder, Club Soda, in which the pair detailed how many events offer a very restrictive selection of non-alcoholic drinks, with many not offering anything more than water or orange juice.
It got me thinking, just how many organisers consider those who do not drink when working with venues and caterers? Now I don’t have an answer for that one, yet.
From there, after a zoom meeting or two, we at Conference News decided to collaborate with both Laura and Narmeen, as well as Gabrielle Austen-Browne, founder, Diversity Alliance, to put together a survey to find out what organisers think of the new wave of non-drinking delegates.
Fill out the survey here: https://marketing.conference-news.co.uk/non-alcoholic-drinks-survey-2023
The survey itself intends to find out whether organisers cater for non-drinkers; if they are seeing the rising trend of attendees drinking less; and what the main roadblocks are to moving forward with this trend.
We’ll be using the results of the survey to influence a feature in our next edition of Conference News, so let us know what you think, have your say!
