Patrimonio Nacional presents the Gallery's balance sheet and its strategy for 2024

Attracting international tourists, consolidating itself as a cultural and educational benchmark, and building loyalty among Spanish visitors. These are the three strategic lines of action proposed by Patrimonio Nacional for the Royal Collections Gallery in 2024. This was announced by the President of the institution, Ana de la Cueva, and the Director of the Gallery, Leticia Ruiz, at the presentation ceremony held at the Turespaña stand at FITUR 2024.

De la Cueva highlighted that the Gallery had met all its 2023 goals: "firstly, the inauguration on the date promised last year at FITUR, which has been possible thanks to the institutional support of Their Majesties, the support of the Government of Spain, and the hard work and determination of the Patrimonio Nacional team. Moreover, in these six months the Gallery has established itself as a ‘must-see’ in the city of Madrid”. 

The President of Patrimonio Nacional pointed out that "according to visitor numbers, we are the fourth most visited museum in Madrid, which is a source of great pride for a recently created museum. In 2024 we intend to continue this growth, and we have the potential to do so”. To this end, an ambitious educational programme has been designed in addition to establishing strategic alliances with key tourism sectors, and measures will be promoted in collaboration with the regional and local administration to publicise the cultural offer of Madrid's Eje Oeste or West Trail, following the inauguration of the Gallery and the conversion of this area into a “pedestrians only” zone.

The Director of the Gallery, Leticia Ruiz, has shared information on some of the museum’s projects for the new season. These include the launch of the project "The Guest Work”, an initiative to connect with displayed works that are related to the theme of the permanent collection and which belong to other cultural institutions. This proposal is framed within the rotation of a third of the works: "It is one of our hallmarks, reinventing our exhibition discourse without altering the story and always offering a reason to return to the Gallery," explained Ruiz.

336,000 visitors in the first six months

The Royal Collections Gallery ended 2023 as the second most visited place of all sites managed by Patrimonio Nacional, only behind the Royal Palace of Madrid. After its opening on 28th June last year, it had received over 336,000 visitors by 31st December. During this time it has established various activities such as "Tuesdays at the Gallery", lecture series that will resume this February, or "In Context", guided tours of works displayed in the Gallery.

In addition to the ten architectural awards, the new museum of Patrimonio Nacional has also been declared Time Out’s winner in the "Opening of the Year" category, and it was a finalist in the same category by the British magazine "Apollo". The Gallery has been a part of the Hispanic Festival and the Science Week. In its goal to consolidate itself as a centre for cultural activities, besides the "Tuesdays in the Gallery" lecture series, it is hosting a conference next week to commemorate the fifth centenary of the building of the Royal Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha.