In response to questions from the Lusa news agency about the use of the different free entry options in force at these MMP spaces, the public business entity released data relating to the period from 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2026, adopted as a reference after the entry into operation of "a new ticketing system that allows for more reliable measurement".

Free admissions

Out of a total of almost 1.7 million free admissions across all categories during this period, 1,390,569 (81.93%) were made by domestic visitors, and 306,654 (18.07%) by foreign visitors, according to MMP statistics, which also include admissions under the Access 52 program.

During the same period, according to MMP, the total number of paid and free admissions reached 3,951,639.

Costs to the State

Statements by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, in a parliamentary hearing on 21 July, reveal that this free admission system “had costs, with an associated revenue loss of 10 million euros”.

The report cited by the Lusa news agency states that these figures correspond to the number of tickets issued and not just the number of unique users, thus reflecting the volume of use of the different free admission options available at museums, monuments, and palaces under the tutelage of the MMP.

The document explains that only in the Access 52 program is it possible to track the number of uses per visitor, through the registration of the Individual Taxpayer Registry (CPF), allowing for analysis of the frequency of use of the measure by the same visitor.

In other free admission options, the accounting is done only by the number of tickets issued, making it impossible to identify unique users.

The report concludes that free entries are mostly used by residents of Portugal, who account for more than 80% of those registered in the period analysed.

However, a significant portion of the free access options are not exclusively for residents, unlike the Access 52 program, which requires tax residency in Portugal and also covers foreign visitors who meet the requirements stipulated in the legislation.

These options include free entry for children up to 12 years old, regardless of nationality, as well as school groups, accompanying teachers, people with disabilities and their companions, researchers and journalists, and also museum and heritage professionals and members of international organizations such as the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the Portuguese Association of Museology (APOM).

The MMP report clarifies that these options are regularly used by tourists, researchers, heritage professionals, journalists and foreign schools, including those from countries within and outside the European Union.