The Madrid Book Fair, which closed its 76th edition on Sunday, has increased its sales by 8% over the previous year, which is a figure of 8.8 million euros, according to the provisional data provided by the organization.

 Some figures that the director of the fair, Manuel Gil, considers "very positive" and also make clear that women are the most read in this country, since 66% of visitors to the fair have been women, to 34% of men.

"Although the Book Fair of Madrid is a bubble in the world of books and bookstores, it is clear that the climate of pessimism that has existed in recent years seems to have disappeared. We witness a spike in cultural consumption and in this particular case of books, "explained Gil. As for the public profile that this year has visited the Fair, which has had Portugal as its guest country, 57% is between 24 and 50 years old. It should also be noted that 20% of visitors have been from communities outside of Madrid, which "consolidates the Book Fair as one of the events promoting cultural tourism in the capital," the organizers said. These data, provided a few hours after the closing, come from the questionnaires made by the fair to publishers and bookstores in the exhibits, but also, and for the first time, by the almost 4,000 interviews that the organization has conducted to visitors at the Fair, during the 17 days that this cultural event has lasted.

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