Key Takeaways
- CES 2026 risks becoming an echo chamber if global attendance decreases due to immigration and trade obstacles.
- A lack of international presence leads to thinner exhibit halls, fewer cross-border ideas, lost investment opportunities, and reduced media coverage.
- Organizers and policymakers must act to facilitate easier visa access and maintain an open environment for global participation.
- Companies need to raise awareness about barriers before CES 2026 to prevent a localized event.
- The global stage benefits everyone; if international innovators stay home, it undermines the essence of CES and its impact.
Global Innovation At Risk. If The World Stays Home. Don’t Let CES Go Silent.
Mitch Goldstone, CEO, ScanMyPhotos.com
CES could become an echo chamber.
CES is not just about gadgets. It is the largest stage in the world for new ideas. Every January, Las Vegas becomes a temporary capital of innovation. Startups, engineers, investors, researchers, and journalists gather to show what’s next.
In 2025, more than 142,000 people attended CES. About 40% came from outside the United States. That means nearly 60,000 people flew in from over 150 countries. Without them, CES would be smaller, less diverse, and far less important.
I personally know what it’s like when CES has no attendees. I was literally the only one there; read the Digital Trends story why?
That is why CES 2026 faces a very real challenge. The world is unsettled. Immigration rules, visa delays, tariffs, and new trade restrictions are creating uncertainty. Political rhetoric about who is welcome in the U.S. sends a message, even if unintended. Companies and innovators abroad are asking themselves: “Is it worth the cost, the risk, or the insult of being turned away?”
Why it matters
If global exhibitors and attendees stay home, the consequences will be felt everywhere:
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Thinner exhibit halls. Less variety, fewer voices, and missing products from the world’s most innovative markets. Lost revenues to CTA and CES.
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Fewer cross-border ideas. CES thrives on the collision of cultures and technologies. When voices are missing, the future gets narrower.
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Lost investment. Startups often rely on CES to meet partners and funders. Without access, they lose opportunities.
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Shrinking media coverage. International journalists amplify CES worldwide. If they skip it, the event’s reach declines.
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Economic impact on Las Vegas. Hotels, restaurants, and local workers depend on the global draw.
A warning signal
CES is meant to be a global marketplace of ideas. If tens of thousands cannot attend, the world will notice. Fewer booths, fewer accents, fewer products — and fewer reasons for global buyers to book a flight.
CES could become an echo chamber. American companies talking only to each other. That is not leadership. That is retreat.
What needs to happen
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Organizers must lead. The Consumer Technology Association should work with government agencies to secure easier visa access and clear import rules for exhibitors.
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Policy makers must protect openness. America cannot be a global tech leader if it closes its doors.
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Companies must speak out. If barriers are rising, exhibitors and attendees need to report them now, before January.
The stakes
CES 2026 begins in just 109 days. That is not much time to act. The choice is simple: protect CES as a global stage or watch it shrink into a local showroom.
The show is strongest when the world shows up. If international innovators stay home, we all lose. Not just Las Vegas, not just the tech industry, but everyone who believes that progress depends on the free flow of ideas.
