What to expect at CES 2020 in Las Vegas

170,000 attendees. 4,500 companies. 1,100 speakers.

All that, and more, will be at CES 2020. The largest trade show in Las Vegas, CES will give companies a chance to show off some of the newest developments in consumer technology.

Here’s what you can expect at this week’s convention.

Showcasing innovation

CES 2020 will take place Jan. 7 to 10. The technology trade show is one of the largest in the country, with exhibit space taking up more than 2.9 million square feet across 11 venues in Las Vegas: the Las Vegas Convention Center, Westgate, Renaissance, the Sands Expo and Convention Center, The Venetian, Palazzo, Wynn Las Vegas, Encore, Aria, Park MGM and Vdara.

“It’s really the one place where … (you can) understand how the tech ecosystem comes together,” said Karen Chupka, executive vice president of CES.

The trade show focuses on 11 main tech topics:

— 5G and the internet of things

— advertising

— entertainment and content

— automotive

— blockchain

— health and wellness

— home and family

— immersive entertainment

— product design and manufacturing

— robotics and machine intelligence

— sports and startups

For exhibitors, the convention presents an opportunity to show off new product or innovations to potential customers or partners. Exhibitors also look to attract attention from the more than 6,000 attending members of the media.

Shifting focus

CES organizers plan to hold more than 300 educational sessions on topics like the future of data-driven marketing or how technology has changed the live sports experience.

Chupka said the upcoming show has a greater focus on travel and tourism technology. On Jan. 7., Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian will deliver the opening keynote and discuss how technology is advancing the travel experience. This would be the first time any airline representative headlines the CES keynote stage.

The convention is also adding a new travel and tourism exhibit area, which will focus on how smarter technologies can enhance the traveler experience.

Chupka said growing technologies like artificial intelligence and 5G technology also have an expanded focus compared to previous years.

“We’ll see more of how companies are using those technologies to create new products and solve problems,” she said. “There’s a little bit more of the deployment that’s happening in the market.”

$291.4M impact

To make sure things run smoothly for attendees and residents alike, organizers will bring in buses from other parts of the state to shuttle attendees across the convention’s approximately 10-mile radius.

McCarran International Airport will add about 49,000 inbound and outbound seats during CES week, most of which are on international flights. Spokeswoman Christine Crews said there “really isn’t anything that compares” to CES week, which is expected to bring in 60,000 international attendees. All those visitors, many of whom are traveling with a company credit card, are expected to bring a lot of money into the city. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority estimates the 2020 trade show will have a total economic impact of about $291.4 million in Las Vegas.

While some businesses will see direct impacts from the trade show — local restaurants and hotels, for instance — the convention will set off a ripple effect bringing economic benefits to the vast majority of Southern Nevada residents, according to Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst for Applied Analysis.

“The impact is very substantial,” he said.

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. Las Vegas Sands operates the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.