Free entry to state-protected museums, monuments and palaces is no longer limited to Sundays and public holidays, and from this Thursday it will be possible to choose 52 days of free access per year, the government said.
This measure, which only applies to Portuguese and Portuguese residents and will allow the flow of visitors to be managed, was explained to journalists this Thursday by the Minister of Culture, Dalila Rodrigues, at the Palacio da Ajuda in Lisbon, putting into effect a decision that was revealed in May.
From this Thursday, the change is that Portuguese and Portuguese residents now have 52 days a year, any day of the week, to visit 37 public museums, monuments and palaces for free. Until now, free access was only available on Sundays and public holidays, under the regime that came into force in September 2023.
“Freedom is complete. We can start visiting any day of the week. The free service, which until now was limited to Sundays and public holidays, now has complete freedom of action and choice. There is no reason why the Portuguese and the inhabitants of Portugal should not do this. visit our museums and monuments,” up to 52 days, the Minister of Culture said this Thursday.
To guarantee access to these places, visitors must present their ID at the check-in desks to be able to count towards the 52-day limit in the central database.
The Minister herself, the Secretary of State for Culture, Maria de Lourdes Craveiro, and the president of the company that oversees these 37 cultural sites (Museums and Monuments of Portugal), Alexandre Pais, quickly registered at the ticket office of the National Palace of Assistance.
Since the measure comes into force this Thursday, August 1, only 22 days of free tickets are available until the end of the year. But it is possible to visit several museums, monuments and palaces during each selected day.
On May 18, International Museum Day, the Minister of Culture announced changes to the free system, introducing an “app voucher” for personal use with 52 days of free access.
This Thursday, Dalila Rodrigues explained to journalists that the application (“app”) cannot be implemented yet because “the ticketing system as it was left by the disappeared DGPC [Direção-Geral do Património Cultural] “obsolete.”
According to the minister, “the entire operating system is being updated so that the application can become a means of accessing this free access.”
“IT processes are always complex, we almost always face IT difficulties, but this system will work very well, it is tested and simple,” he assured.
The Minister of Culture wanted this “freedom of choice” to come into force now, coinciding with one of the main holiday periods for the Portuguese, and also to ease the waiting times to enter museums, which until now had been concentrated on Sundays.
Regarding possible compensation for revenues that could be lost by switching to free services, Dalila Rodriguez said it was still necessary to understand how this measure would impact from a budgetary point of view.
“I am convinced that we will successfully implement this measure and that it will not be cancelled in any way,” he said.
Regarding the lack of updated statistics on the number of visitors, since the most recent data is from 2022, Dalila Rodrigues accused the defunct Directorate General of Cultural Heritage (DGPC) of not knowing the geographical origin of those who visit; whether the visitor is foreign, Portuguese or resident in Portugal.
“We do not have [dados] because the defunct DGPC did not make it available, and the ticketing system that was still in effect unfortunately did not take into account geographical origin. […] According to our estimates, based on previous data, this demand could be around 20%, that is, the Portuguese corresponded to approximately 20% of public demand,” he said.
Asked about the lack of public data on who visits these cultural sites, Dalila Rodriguez replied: “The total number of visitors was obviously counted. [Sobre números] I have no idea, don’t ask me, I’m the Minister of Culture and I don’t really keep statistics on visits.”
According to the latest data, in 2022 the number of national museums, monuments and palaces amounted to 3,339,416 units.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.