The Davos Congress Centre, a large convention facility on the Promenade, is the headquarters of the annual World Economic Forum — the gathering of global business and political leaders that has made "Davos" a metonym for elite global power since the 1970s. Outside of Forum week (late January), it functions as a regular conference centre and concert venue.
The Forum itself is not open to the public, but the transformed town during WEF week is a spectacle in its own right: security perimeters, protest signs, and a surreal procession of private jets arriving at Zurich and Samedan airports. For those with no interest in attending, WEF week is the single best reason to avoid Davos in January. The rest of January is perfectly pleasant.