How MWC 2025 impacted mobility and tourism in Barcelona

Analyzing anonymized data is essential for urban and tourism management, as it allows understanding residents and visitors' behavior and mobility. At Telefónica Tech we monitored activity before and during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025, which took place from March 3 to 6 at Fira Gran Via, to understand its impact on Barcelona's mobility and tourism.

We have extracted some data from this analysis, which you can download, providing a detailed insight into urban mobility and event attendees' trends and preferences.

Impact on urban mobility

• An increase of 14% in visitor attendance compared to the previous year.
• Attendees stayed in Barcelona for an average of four days, depending on their nationality.
• Mobility towards the Fira experienced a notable increase, especially on the morning of the first day of the event, with 36% of the travels coming from the city center and 7% from Sants station.

Tourist trends

• France, China, and the United Kingdom have the highest percentage of visitors.
• There was a 43% increase in attendees of Chinese nationality compared to 2024, while Germany saw an 8.2% decrease compared to last year.
• Central neighborhoods such as Dreta de l'Eixample, El Raval, and the Gothic Quarter were the most visited, capturing 35% of the total visitors during the week before the event.

The analysis, conducted with the Smart Steps platform developed by Telefónica Tech, helps to better understand behavior and mobility patterns. This allows administrations and companies to optimize urban planning and resource usage, and improve transportation infrastructure.

■ For more details on the event's impact on urban mobility and tourist trends, we invite you to consult the full report.