Hotels booked for longer periods with the ISE

BarcelonaThe peak season in Barcelona has been moving earlier for years, before summer and Easter. The Mobile World Congress (MWC), since its arrival in 2006, and especially after its expansion when it moved to Hospitalet de Llobregat, has evened out the seasonality of hotel activity and created a new peak at the beginning of the year with its 109,000 visitors. This has been further enhanced by the arrival of other trade shows such as Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), which will hold its fifth edition in the city starting this Tuesday. ISE doesn't attract as many delegates as MWC, but its attendance is growing year after year. The industry estimates that for every ISE booking, three are made for MWC. The audiovisual trade show, directed by Mike Blackman, welcomed more than 85,000 attendees last year and is registering 10% more bookings for this week's edition. The trade fair alone books around 8,000 rooms through its booking agency. "It's very good for hotels, both because of its scale and because it's held in February. Historically, it was a very bad month, and MWC and ISE have made it a good one," says Manel Casals, director of the Hotel Guild. Hoteliers know this and have been preparing for a week of high occupancy. This is the case at the Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower, popularly known for the UFO that Richard Rogers placed on its roof. "It's not quite MWC, but it's getting close," confirms sales manager Silvia Bullich. However, unlike what happens with MWC attendees, those attending ISE are staying longer. Those attending Mobile World Congress, who already know the city after so many years, aren't coming the weekend before or are delaying their return to do some sightseeing, something that those attending ISE are doing, with stays of between four and five nights, and some even between six and seven nights.

A feeling shared by those at Barcelona-based hotel group HotusaThe company, which has a dozen establishments in Barcelona such as the Eurostars Grand Marina and the Exe Plaza Catalunya, says, "The forecasts are very positive: the hotels are practically full, with very high occupancy levels. These types of fairs are key to maintaining stable, high-quality tourism throughout the year." But it's not just hotels that benefit; restaurants and entertainment venues also profit. The Catalan Federation of Associations of Restaurant and Music Activities (Fecasarm) estimates average spending on food and entertainment of around €500 per person during the four days of the fair. In total, this will generate an aggregate revenue of €47 million, still far from the €100 million of Mobile World Congress. "It's a very good figure considering the very low turnover figures for these two sectors, especially during the week, since some wouldn't open at night without the ISE event," says Joaquim Boadas, Secretary General of Fecasarm.

El Prat Airport, with 9% more seats

The ISE will also be noticeable at Barcelona Airport, with airlines offering 8.6% more seats on arrivals and 8.1% more on departures compared to a normal week. The peak numbers for airlines will be on the first day of the fair, when arrivals at Terminal 2 will exceed the usual figure by more than 50%, and on the 7th, with a 20% increase.

With the commuter rail chaos in the background, conference attendees won't be the most affected by this crisis; only those who havefrom taking the train from the airport. Arrival at the fair can be made via metro line L9, as TMB will be running more trains, or the Baix Llobregat lines of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC). TMB will also be providing shuttle buses between Plaça Espanya and the Gran Via fairgrounds.

And we mustn't forget the taxi drivers, who are preparing for a busy week, even better than during MWC. "Conferences like ISE are much better than MWC, for us. Mobile World Congress is a busy weekend and a very hectic Monday at the airport, and the rest of the days it's impossible to get around the city. In contrast, with ISE, it's much easier to work," explains Olivier Contel, president of Élite Taxi. Furthermore, for now, it's the congress attendees who are using taxis more than the vans seen during MWC.