GSMA CEO expects €240m economic impact from MWC

The economic impact of this year's Mobile World Congress is expected to exceed €240 million, according to John Hoffman, the CEO of the company organizing the expo said in an interview with the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

"We're thrilled, just look around", Hoffman said in the heart of the MWC.

Although he didn't offer exact attendance figures and admitted that they would be less than those from 2019, Hoffman defended the results of the first post-pandemic MWC, calling them "phenomenal". 

"Based on what we've seen this week, when the final study is completed by the independent analysis, it will be more than a quarter of a billion euros economic impact, so our job is to convene the industry, but also to give back, so help the local community move forward", he added.

"Everyone seems to be really happy that MWC is back in business, the restaurants are busy, the hotels are really busy for kind of almost the first time", said the GSMA CEO. "I’ve heard that some of the clubs and restaurants are going well into the evening, so I think they are very, very thrilled".

When speaking about this year's measures he said: "Well, the masks, I think, hide smiles – so underneath the masks people are very happy".

Despite this year's numbers likely to be less than those of 2019, Hoffman assured that "MWC has never been about numbers, what [it] has been about is quality. So, the right people from the right places at the right level, and that's what we're really seeing here at MWC 22, a lot of seniority from around the world getting together to discuss debate".

Mobile World Congress is the world's largest mobile industry trade show, and has been held in Barcelona since 2006. Before the show began on Monday, 60,000 attendees were predicted. While this is significantly more than the 2021 event, it still falls short of the fair’s pre-pandemic numbers of over 100,000.

The future of MWC

Hoffman highlighted the "mutually beneficial" relationship between the GSMA, Fira (the venue), government organizations and Catalan institutions.

When asked about the event's contract ending in 2024, the MWC organizer said that they have not thought about what to do after this date. "Once we get through this event and through the middle of the year, we'll start to have some discussions and talk about the future, both internally first, and then we'll see what happens", he said to ACN, adding that the decision on MWC's future in Barcelona will be taken "probably by the middle of 2023".

The Ukraine Crisis

Hoffman underlined MWC's "firm" position with regards to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. "The Russian pavilion was banned from our event, we renounce the invasion of a sovereign country, and we want peace, we will follow any and all international sanctions", he said.

Despite the banning of the Russian pavilion, some Russian businesses were still represented at the convention. "We cannot stop companies that are legally allowed to participate and some of them are here, we hope that they will go home and make peace," he remarked.

The Mobile World Congress is set to last until Thursday March 3.