The experience economy keeps defying expectations. Maybe we’ve been looking at it all wrong

Covid-19 exposed the vulnerability of businesses built around bringing people together. Live entertainment, sports, theaters and business travel all faced an uncertain future as public-health concerns made crowded venues and non-essential trips difficult to justify.

A sudden shock for live experiences

Before the pandemic, concerts, sporting events and theater depended on audiences gathering in person. Covid disrupted that model almost immediately, leaving companies connected to live events facing a bleak outlook.

The crisis also affected the wider business ecosystem surrounding shared experiences. Any organization whose activities relied on people meeting, traveling or attending venues had to contend with restrictions and changing public behavior.

Business travel questioned

Corporate travel faced a similar challenge. With video conferencing available, businesses had to reconsider whether employees needed to travel for meetings and other professional activities. The idea that work could continue remotely raised questions about the long-term role of in-person business interactions.

That uncertainty went beyond the immediate health crisis. The prevailing assumption was that daily life and work might remain fundamentally altered even after public-health concerns eased. Under that view, the experience economy was not simply facing a temporary interruption but a potential structural reset.

A lasting question for the sector

The pandemic therefore created a central business question: would people return to shared events and non-essential travel, or would remote alternatives permanently change demand? The source material establishes the scale of that uncertainty but does not provide a later outcome.