Catalan coastal town attracts Mobile World Congress attendees

Not everybody going to the Mobile World Congress (MWC) will be staying in Barcelona and the metropolitan area. Many of the attendees of the event, which is expected to draw in around 110,000 people from all over the world, have booked accommodation in the Catalan coastal town of Sitges, about 40 minutes away from the capital.

One of the main reasons is the tranquility away from the city that Sitges provides, as well as the easy connectivity to the congress itself. With just five days to go until the congress kicks off, hotels there  are already around 70% booked up, according to figures released by the local hotel association. And town's such as Sitges are the perfect place to unwind after a busy day at the event.

Hoping for a full house

Everyday new bookings are being made, and the Sitges Hotel Association expects rooms will be 95% full when the event begins. The organization hopes for a repeat of last year’s success, in which nearly all 5,000 available places were full.

The vice-president of the association, Álvaro Domínguez, explained why many of the MWC’s participants choose Sitges over the Catalan capital. “There are many clients that choose us because of the easy access to the Fira (where MWC takes place) and the tranquillity,” he said.

Domínguez also stated that some attendees extend their stays, while many also use the hotels in Sitges to carry out business meetings.

According to the hotel association, at the moment seven out of ten places in hotels, hostels, pensions, and tourist apartments are currently reserved.  However, it is expected that everywhere will end up practically booked up like last year.

Tourist apartments

Domínguez also pointed out that the number of people using tourist flats in Barcelona has increased, and this is an obstacle for the hotel sector in Sitges to overcome.

More than 45,000 Mobile World Congress (MWC) attendees will be staying in Airbnb accommodation for the duration of the event, paying a total of more than five million euros between them.