World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2027 in Davos: a practical guide for the week

5 days ago

6 min read

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2027 takes place from 18 to 22 January 2027 at the Congress Centre in Davos Platz. Participation is by invitation only. Everyone else who comes for the week, from side-event hosts to company teams, books accommodation privately and passes police checks on the roads into town.

The meeting in brief

Dates. Monday 18 to Friday 22 January 2027.
Venue. Congress Centre (Kongresszentrum), Talstrasse 49A, 7270 Davos Platz.
Participants. Between 2,500 and 3,000 from business, politics, science, culture and media, according to Gemeinde Davos, including 200 to 300 internationally protected persons such as heads of state and ministers. About 400 journalists cover the meeting.
Access. The Forum states that participation is reserved for its Members and invited guests. No hotel, agency or accommodation provider can sell a place at the meeting.

Security and traffic rules for 2027 are not yet published. Where this page gives operational details, they come from the 2026 orders of Kantonspolizei Graubünden and Gemeinde Davos. The 2027 orders usually appear in December or January, and we will update this page when they do.

How Davos changes during the week

Davos has about 11,000 residents. During the meeting it also hosts a large police operation and, in 2026, more than 250 public side events.

Security. The cantonal police of Graubünden lead the operation, with police from every Swiss canton. The Swiss parliament has approved army support of up to 5,000 personnel for the 2025 to 2027 meetings. In 2026 the police set up five restricted zones: the Congress Centre with two adjoining hotels, the Belvédère and AlpenGold hotels, the lake heliport and the ice rink. People and vehicles were checked on every road into Davos. Read security zones and hotel badges.

Roads and buses. In 2026 the Promenade beside the Congress Centre closed to traffic from Saturday 17 to Saturday 24 January, the police took over several car parks, and free minibuses ran on three lines inside town. Read road closures and getting around.

Building work. Gemeinde Davos has published the 2027 timetable for temporary buildings such as pavilions and branded houses:

Period	What happens
14 to 18 December 2026	Phase 1: frames and outer shells only, no advertising
19 December 2026 to 5 January 2027	No building work during the holiday season
6 to 9 January 2027	Phase 2: only projects that leave the Promenade and its pavement clear
11 to 16 January 2027	Phase 3: pavements and parts of roads may be used, buses may run late
22 to 29 January 2027	Temporary buildings come down

Security fencing goes up in two stages: around the outskirts and the lake from 4 to 10 January 2027, and in the town centre from 14 to 20 January 2027.

Side events. Shops, restaurants and hotel spaces along the Promenade turn into branded houses, lounges and pavilions for the week. In the public listings we collected for 2026 there were 256 side events from 90 host organisations, and Wednesday 21 January was the busiest day with 72 single-day events. Gemeinde Davos counted 132 temporary building projects in 2026. For 2027 it has set a limit of 125, which applies only if more than 125 applications come in; applications are then scored, and ties are decided by lot. Temporary buildings are limited to two storeys, media companies can no longer be the end user of a project, and the Arkadenplatz stays clear of temporary buildings apart from food trucks. Read side events and houses on the Promenade and the 2027 side events tracker.

How accommodation works

Registered participants. Rooms for registered participants have historically been allocated through the Forum's official logistics provider, Publicis Live. The Forum's 2013 participant guide said it allocated one hotel room per registered participant, with a five-night minimum charged in full when booking. The 2015 guide described Publicis Live as the official logistics and production provider, with a desk in the Congress Centre. Current arrangements are communicated to registered participants and are not public.

Forum staff. The Forum also rents private apartments for its own staff. According to Gemeinde Davos, most staff arrive on the Saturday before the meeting and leave on the Saturday after, and in most cases the Forum rents Saturday to Saturday.

Everyone else. Side-event hosts, company teams, delegations and media crews book privately: hotel rooms that are not committed to the conference, private apartments, and chalets in Klosters and the villages around Davos. Most lets run by the week.

Our prices for 16 to 23 January 2027. These are starting prices per property, per week, including taxes and service fees.

Type	From (CHF, per week)
Apartment in Davos	15,000
Chalet for 6 to 12 guests, Klosters or south of Davos	23,000
Hotel room or suite	45,000
Villa, three or more bedrooms	60,000

Transfers, drivers and hotel badges are quoted separately. Read what a week in Davos costs.

When to book. The first bookings for January come in during March of the previous year. By October most apartments in Davos Platz are taken, and from November what remains is mostly in Davos Dorf and outside town. Read when to book and Davos Platz or Davos Dorf.

Arriving in Davos

By car. Zurich Airport is about 150 km away, 2 to 2.5 hours in January. Munich Airport is 4 to 4.5 hours and Milan Malpensa 3.5 to 4 hours.
By train. About 2 hours 40 minutes from Zurich Airport, with changes at Zurich main station and Landquart.
By helicopter. About 35 minutes from Zurich to the Davos Stilli heliport, weather permitting, then about 10 minutes by road to Davos Platz. In 2026 the airspace around Davos was restricted from 16 to 24 January; civil aircraft could fly through only if registered and identified in advance, with Swiss Air Force approval. Helicopter operators handle the approvals.
Checks. Police check people, vehicles and luggage on all roads into Davos. Carry a passport or ID card and allow time for waits.

Read Zurich Airport to Davos in January, or ask us about a transfer or driver.

Guides for the week

Questions

When is the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2027?

From Monday 18 to Friday 22 January 2027, at the Congress Centre in Davos Platz, Switzerland.

Can I attend the Annual Meeting in Davos without an invitation?

No. Participation is by invitation only, and the Forum warns against anyone offering to sell a registration. Many side events in town are open on registration. The Forum's public Open Forum, held since 2003, will not take place in 2027, according to Gemeinde Davos.

Do I need a badge to walk around Davos during the week?

No. In 2026 a badge was needed only for the restricted zones around the Congress Centre, two hotels, the lake heliport and the ice rink. The rest of town, including the side-event houses on the Promenade, stayed open.

Where do participants of the Annual Meeting stay?

Rooms for registered participants have historically been allocated through the Forum's logistics provider, Publicis Live. Everyone else books hotels, apartments or chalets privately, usually by the week from Saturday to Saturday.

Is it too late to find accommodation in Davos for January 2027?

No, but by October most apartments in Davos Platz are taken. What remains is mostly in Davos Dorf, Klosters and the villages south of Davos, about 25 minutes from the Congress Centre.

Sources

Davos Villas & Apartments is an independent services provider and is not affiliated with the World Economic Forum.

DAVOS 2027