Museums back to pre-pandemic visitor numbers, but not all

Dutch museums attracted some 9.5 million visitors in 2023, umbrella organisation Museumvereniging has calculated.

The figure is based on the number of people who visited with a museum card, which, the Museumvereniging says, is a good indication of the total number.

No exact figures are available as yet, but the organisation estimated 29 to 32 million people went to a museum last year, equalling pre-pandemic numbers.

The Rijksmuseum attracted some 2.7 million visitors, largely down to its blockbuster Vermeer exhibition, while the Watersnoodmuseum in Ouwerkerk, which documents the flood of 1953, welcomed a record 125,000 visitors.

Higher visitor numbers are also benefiting the local economy, the Museumvereniging said, with nearby restaurants, shops and hotels all seeing a rise in turnover.

Not all museums are doing well, however, and some are still coming to terms with the effects of the pandemic and more recent rises in energy costs.

The Kunstmuseum in The Hague and the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden are currently struggling while the Cobra Museum in Amstelveem was saved from closure in the nick of time by a private loan. Museum De Fundatie in Zwolle is also facing a budget deficit of €900,000.