Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Rebounding popularity of CES sets pace for rest of year’s business tourism

CES Preparations Begin at Convention Center

Christopher DeVargas

A construction crew sets up structures at the Las Vegas Convention Center in preparation for CES, Monday Dec. 19, 2022.

Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the organization that puts on the annual CES electronics show in Las Vegas, has referred to himself as “the biggest cheerleader for the tech world.”

But that doesn’t mean his elevator pitch for this month’s show is off base.

“People, some journalists, have done stories about how we don’t need trade shows any longer, but they’re so wrong,” said Shapiro, head of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). “If anything, the pandemic has strengthened the need for face-to-face meetings.”

A show that attracted nearly 170,000 attendees before the coronavirus hit in 2020 is expected to draw just over 100,000 this month. CES runs Thursday through Sunday at the Las Vegas Convention Center and other venues.

While still down from pre-pandemic levels, attendance is expected to be up significantly from last year’s crowd of 45,000.

Shapiro said companies are still watching their travel spending.

“I really think the pandemic issue has mostly gone away, but from a financial perspective, I think some companies got used to cutting back on those business travel expenses,” Shapiro said. “The leisure traveler came back quick, but the business traveler has come back more slowly.”

Throughout the trade show industry, attendance is generally about 60% of what it was before the pandemic, he said.

“The show will be smaller than in past years, yes, but we’re in a good place,” Shapiro said. “We’re hearing good things from companies. I think there’s an understanding about the value of human connection, which is what we bring.

“Show me a CEO who’s going to have a really good time going to an online trade show for two or three days. They don’t exist,” he added. “People are done with virtual; people want to meet face-to-face.”

Representatives from more than 2,900 companies have signed on to attend the show, according to the CTA.

The show will feature over 2 million square feet of exhibit space, about 50% more than the scaled-back 2022 show.

Shapiro noted that more than 60% of all Fortune 500 companies will be represented. The list includes companies such as Meta, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Sony and Verizon.

One newcomer is Citizen, which will be introducing a line of smartwatches with wellness tracking technologies.

The theme of the 2023 show is human security — the idea of embracing tech solutions to address human rights issues like food security and access to health care.

Lori Nelson-Kraft, senior vice president of communications for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said the organization is expecting CES will kick off an “exciting new year for our local tourism industry.”

“We appreciate the opportunity to be on the world’s stage for hosting the biggest and best of trade shows in the world,” Nelson-Kraft said.

In a positive sign for the trade show industry, more than 628,000 people visited Las Vegas for a convention in October, up 32% from the same month in 2021 and up 20% from October 2019.

Last year, Las Vegas was expected to fall short of its overall visitor total from 2019 — about 42 million — but only by a few million.

In October, Harry Reid International Airport set a monthly traffic record, with 5.2 million arriving and departing passengers.