Telefónica has once again analysed the attendance and behaviour of visitors to the Mobile World Congress (MWC) to identify the impact the event has on mobility in Barcelona. The analysis, carried out using the company’s own Smart Steps tool, reveals that attendance at Congress peaks in the middle of the day, between 12 noon and 2 p.m., and that the most visited area in the afternoon at the end of the fair is Dreta de l’Eixample.
Smart Steps is a crowd analysis platform developed by Telefónica Tech that uses artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to process anonymised, categorised, extrapolated and aggregated data from millions of mobile lines. The data extracted by this tool, relating to the mobility and behaviour patterns of visitors, is extremely valuable for public and private companies in making more informed strategic decisions.
The results of the mobility analysis for the first day of MWC confirm that most visitors attend the Congress in the morning, with peak attendance between 12 noon and 2 p.m., and that the most represented international nationalities are China, Germany, France, Poland and the United Kingdom.
The analysis, based on heat maps and differentiated by time slots, shows that congress attendees begin to leave the exhibition center from 4 pm onwards and head to the center of Barcelona to enjoy the cultural and leisure activities on offer and do some shopping. Although it is down almost eight percentage points compared to last year’s data, Dreta de l’Eixample remains the favourite location for MWC visitors (specifically, 17.5% chose it) as it is home to iconic tourist attractions such as La Casa Batlló and La Pedrera and some of the most prominent shopping areas (Plaza Cataluña and Paseo de Gracia, among others). Sants, with 5%, is another of the busiest neighbourhoods in the afternoon, as it also registers those conference attendees who go to the station to catch trains back home.
The data obtained from the first day of MWC also shows that attendees visit other iconic neighbourhoods in Barcelona at dinnertime, such as Poble-sec, Sant-Antoni and El Raval. These three neighbourhoods account for around 15% of mobility in this time slot, compared to 18% last year for Barri Gòtic, Poble-sec and El Raval, followed by Sants with 5% of visitors. In addition, the analysis suggests that this year, conference attendees mainly stayed in the areas of Dreta de l’Eixample (13%), El Raval (6.8%), Sants (6.44%) and, to a lesser extent, in the neighbourhoods of Poble-sec (5%), Sant Antoni (3.6%) and the Barri Gótic (3.5%).
Carlos Martínez, Director of AI and Data at Telefónica Tech, explains: “With our Smart Steps tool, we are analysing crowd mobility for different economic sectors, including the study of specific events (conferences, trade fairs, concerts, sporting activities, etc.), and providing useful information so that organisations can understand users’ behaviour patterns, consumption preferences or leisure trends and can, for example, correctly size public services or anticipate specific needs.”
For more information: Telefónica at MWC 2026
