LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — CES bringing an estimated 100,000 people to Las Vegas for the first time since before the coronavirus pandemic has been set to be a boon for businesses from The Strip to local shops downtown.
Business owners said they were excited for a year potentially packed with travel rivaling pre-pandemic years.
In 2021, for example, CES went fully virtual in response to COVID concerns costing Las Vegas businesses an estimated $300,000,000.
In 2022, major firms like Microsoft and Google withdrew from in-person attendance at CES, signaling a paired back year for convention business.
"We expect 20-23 to be a great year," said Steve Hill, CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Hill said while CES attendance wasn't expected to reach pre-pandemic levels in 2023, he did expect the more than 60 scheduled events and trade shows on the calendar could bring pre-pandemic visitor numbers to Las Vegas businesses like Rebar in the Arts District.
"It's just great news for small businesses," Rebar owner and Arts District Board member Derek Stonebarger said, "mom and pop shops like us in the Arts District."
Stonebarger said many corporations, even larger ones, have been attracted to small businesses for convention events like after parties as prices rise across the board.
"They're going to need places to meet up, and that's where we come in," he said. "We're a much better deal."
Down the street at Nevada Brew Works, owner Jason Taylor said they're expecting a profitable 2023 as companies think outside the strip.
"There's a lot of traffic," Taylor said. "It can take you an hour to get to your hotel, or you can just jump right into the Arts District and be at Nevada Brew Works in five minutes."
After years of obstacles, pandemic shutdowns, travel restrictions, virtual meetings, and more, Stonebarger said the hard times have prepared business owners for a hopeful easy sailing to come.
"We navigated it," he said, "and we feel like you could probably throw anything at us, and we're not going anywhere. We survived that. Anything is pretty easy for us now, as crazy as that sounds."
CES ends on Sunday with Shot Show, the nation's largest sport shooting and hunting convention, slated to begin on January 17.
