It is not hard to believe that Malaga's wonderful Picasso Museum enjoyed another record year in 2016, when 14% more people came to visit Andalucia's most popular art collection. Anyone passing the long queues outside the gallery would have guessed that Museo Picasso Málaga was having yet another very profitable year.
The gallery houses one of the most important 20th century art collections in Europe, and this was reflected in the visitor numbers strolling across Palacio de Buenavista's threshold last year. Each year since the museum opened, the gallery has welcomed more tourists than in the previous 12-month period. Last year 68,423 more visitors admired the artworks on display in the gallery's viewing rooms than in 2016, bringing the total number of visitors to 558,033 for the very first time.
Visitor numbers like these highlight the Picasso Museum's importance as the leading tourist attraction in Andalucia, re-enforcing the need for Malaga City Council to continue its commitment to invest in cultural tourism. Malaga City has become very popular among travellers looking for an exciting city break in Europe – and the city's manifold cultural attractions are the dominant factor when people choose a destination in Andalucia that is a pleasure to visit in all seasons, not just in spring or summer.
Goal of year-round tourism finally achieved?
Andalucia as a whole, with its other great attractions, the Costa del Sol's glitzy resorts and golden beaches, saw an exceptional year in terms of tourist numbers in 2016.
And 2017 is already forecast to be even better: hoteliers saw fully booked hotels even at Christmas and New Year. Shops reported long queues and had to hire additional staff to help cope with the numbers of shoppers. Across Malaga province, hotels saw a 5% increase on December business, with an average of 88% occupancy.
In Marbella and Fuengirola, two of the Costa del Sol's most popular resorts, hotels were reputedly three-quarters full at the end of 2016, while the city of Malaga and most inland hotels reported almost no vacant hotel rooms at all for the Festive Season.
This should give a good indication for the whole of 2017 and Malaga's continued role as one of Europe's premiere cultural destinations. Although the city's most famous museum is predominantly displaying works by Pablo Picasso, the art collection also contains famous masterpieces by other artists, as seasonal exhibitions aim to entice would-be art lovers inside who might not otherwise have paid a visit. Works by Jackson Pollock and Joaquín Torres-García were on temporary display in 2016. This year should also see some exciting 20th and 21st century artists' works exhibited. For art lovers this will be sufficient reason to come to Malaga more than once!