While one of the most visited art fairs, Arco continues to suffer from the lack of sales and continues to lose out in attracting innovative galleries and art.
Over the last few years, the number of galleries attending ARCO has declined and it has lost its status as the primary art fair for Latin American contemporary art to Art Basel Miami and other American art fairs.
While the art fair continues to receive near 200,000 annual visitors, its sales are dismal compared to several of the major art fairs. Some experts believe that ARCO sales are approximately €15 Million versus Art Basel Miami at approximately $300 Million.
One of the recent strategies at ARCO has been to focus attention on institutional buyers versus the curious students, by lowering the days for the general public. However, with the coffers of the Spanish institutional buyers - foundations and museums, limited and the collecting capacity reaching its peak, it remains to be seen whether this strategy will have any success.