The Mobile World Congress seeks to rediscover its pre-pandemic figures in an edition with measures against drought
If the 2023 edition of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) was the one that consolidated the recovery after the pandemic crisis, the feeling left by this year's opening day is that of being in a position to end with numbers similar to those of before of 2020. Not so much because of the attendance, which the official forecasts of the organizers still place one step below six figures (95,000, although they do not rule out it being higher), but because of the effect that the fair will have on Barcelona and its metropolitan area.
Last September, the CEO of GSMA, John Hoffman, estimated the economic impact of the last congress at 461 million euros, an amount that takes into account the annual activity, not only that of the days in which the show was held.. These numbers are close to those of 2019, when 473 million were reached. Reservations for overnight stays, with hotels full and 95% in tourist apartments, billing forecasts for the restaurant and nightlife sector (105 million euros) and data for El Prat airport, with 2% more flights and travelers that five years ago, are a qualitative leap that indicates the increase in influx to the MWC, where Asian visitors have grown compared to the last editions.
Drought in Catalonia
Many of them, as well as those from the United States or northern Europe, did not hide their surprise at the messages that, from the screens at the fairgrounds, warned of the drought that Catalonia is suffering.. The objective is to consume water “with more awareness,” said the general director of GSMA, Mats Granryd, a few days ago.. The Swedish executive of the employers' organization organizing the Mobile recognizes that, for the congressman who comes from countries like his, this problem is completely “unknown.”
With the entry into the drought emergency phase decreed by the Generalitat almost a month ago, Fira de Barcelona has implemented additional measures to those it had already applied since 2020, such as cutting off the supply of ornamental fountains, removing drinking fountains distributed throughout the pavilions or install aerator filters in all taps. And, as the gigantic screen installed across the main entrance indicates, “every drop counts.”