It's partly about the rewards.
What people want from events is something to do too.

Like remember the Valentine one where you were sent into a dungeon designed just for that event where you had to solve a maze while tethered to someone else?
People want stuff like that.
Not talking to NPC A, B, C, D, then A again.

People want real events with something to do, not another errand with a Cutscene.
Take a look at the summer event for example. Years ago they added the jumping puzzle and nothing after that. They could've expanded upon something like that.

And don't give me the "they don't have time" with how stretched patch-cycles now are and how barebones DT is.