CES set to continue, despite rise in COVID-19 cases across the country
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The Consumer Electronics Show is set to kick off later this week, starting on Jan. 5, though it will end a day earlier than planned as the rise of Covid-19 cases across the U.S. has led to several major tech companies, including Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Meta (NASDAQ:FB) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) pulling out of the conference

Late last month, Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, penned an article defending his reasoning for continuing on with the trade show, which in pre-pandemic times, has routinely brought between 150,000 and 200,000 people to Las Vegas.
"As we look to CES 2022, we confront a tough choice," Shapiro wrote in the post. "If we cancel the show, we will hurt thousands of smaller companies, entrepreneurs and innovators who have made investments in building their exhibits and are counting on CES for their business, inspiration and future. If we do not cancel, we face the drumbeat of press and other critics who tell the story only through their lens of drama and big name companies."
While CES is still set to go on, the event has been shortened by one day and will end on Jan. 7. Shapiro added that it's possible that CES could be an event where the Omicron variant spreads, but the organization is requiring people to be vaccinated, wear masks and is recommending testing, while offering free tests at the various events.
"We respect that some do not want to take the risk involved in travel to Las Vegas, even in the vaccinated bubble of CES," Shapiro added. "But with significant safety measures and fewer people, there is plenty of space for attendees to socially distance. We have consulted with experts, both medical and analytical, and have been advised that with our health and safety protocols infections should be minimal."
Shapiro's decision to continue on with the show, despite the drumbeat of companies such as Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) and a host of others saying they will not send in-person delegations to the event, comes as investors try to determine the state of the travel market and the convention scene, despite the Omicron variant appearing to be more transmissible than previous variants, including Delta.
In his annual list of 10 surprises for the markets, Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Vice Chairman Byron Wien said he believes that group meetings and convention gatherings will return to "pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year," even with the Omicron variant spreading around the globe.
"While Covid remains a problem throughout both the developed and the less-developed world, normal conditions are largely restored in the US," Wien wrote in the list. "People spend three to four days a week in offices and return to theaters, concerts, and sports arenas en masse."
According to the U.S. Travel Association, travel spending in the U.S. topped $88 billion in October, down 12% from October 2019 levels, but on par with September and higher than August. That however, is before the rise of the Omicron variant, which was first discovered in mid-November in Botswana and South Africa.
Amazon (AMZN) was listed as one of the top stock picks for 2022 at Moness, Crespi, Hardt, with the investment firm citing the tech giant's ability "to emerge from the [Covid] crisis as one of the biggest beneficiaries of accelerated digital transformation."