Rattled by the pandemic and ensuing global crisis, the World Economic Forum will reinvent itself and pare the number of participants. This is bad news for some.
The political and global business elite will meet in Davos in 2021 for the World Economic Forum (WEF), but in smaller numbers. Instead of up to 3,000 participants will the event in January see some 1,500 to 2,000 members of government and executive boards, according to a report by Swiss daily «Tages-Anzeiger».
The second division of the global elite will have to do with decentralized meetings in 420 hubs worldwide. They will get access to the Davos meetings via video link. Klaus Schwab, the founder of the WEF, hopes to rekindle the spirit of the meeting and recognizes the impact of the health and economic crisis.
Bad News: First the Pandemic, Now a Small WEF
The new form of the forum is upsetting the local hotel and catering industry. Already under pressure from the lockdown, they now fear for the income generated by the forum.
Fewer participants may lead to lower prices – it is a well-known fact that hotels and rental agencies charged huge fees during the WEF-week, helping them bridge the weeks between Christmas and the holiday season.
