MADRID, SPAIN.- According to data furnished by more than twenty Spanish centers and museums, the growth trend of visitors that had declined after the September 2001 attacks is in the rise again. 

Although some of the major museums, such as Thyssen of Madrid, Picasso and Museu d’Historia de la Ciutat had been closed for total or partial refurbishing,  the new Macba system of ticket sales and favorable reception of temporary El Prado museum exhibitions are seen as the engines of the slight growth.

Macba substituted its valid ticket system since January of last year for another that allows access to only one show per ticket. This system, habitual in most museums, helped increase visitor registry in almost 40%, including activities.  Hiper Cataluña and Hamilton collections stood out with a 14% increase in billing. Pedrera and CaixaForum closed in the plus side, but with no great changes.

Regarding temporary exhibitions, “Kandinsky. The dissolution of form” stands out, with 259,274 visitors between September and June. “Cartier-Bresson,” with 209,877, was the most visited temporary show in Caixa Forum.

Other museums such as Thyssen in Barcelona and Barbier-Mueller close with red numbers. And although the Picasso Museum should join this group because of the closing of its permanent collection between February 25 and April 11, it is still at the top of Barcelona art museums.  (The Sagrada Familia or  La Pedrera are the most visited as monuments.) 

In Madrid, El Prado stands as the most visited museum in Spain.  The Madrid museum 25% growth is understandable, due to the attraction potential of the three temporary exhibitions: Manet, Vermeer and Tiziano, that attracted almost a million visitors,  while visitors to the Reina Sofía and the Thyssen –this last with no temporary shows since June due to expansion work- have dropped.