Theaters, museums suffer from fewer visitors

Although coronavirus restrictions are gone, crowds haven't returned to pre-pandemic levels at many theaters and cultural institutions, the NOS reports. People are not attending concerts, plays and movies in the same numbers as they used to.

"My feeling is that that is because people have lost the routine, theater has gone out of their system," said Charles Droste, director of the Amphion Theater in Doetinchem. Last week in his theater, 150 people showed up to a play which would normally seat 350 visitors, he said.

Droste said he believes people are too busy "catching up" on other activities they missed during the pandemic restrictions, such as parties. "Our social life is back on track, leaving little time to go to the theater."

Movie theaters are also seeing fewer customers compared to 2019 numbers. But 7.5 million people have still gone to see a movie in recent months, stressed director Gulian Nolthenius of the Dutch Association of Cinemas and Film Theaters. "It just takes time."

Museums are also emptier –– in part because many of their visitors used to come from other countries. In 2019, a third of museum visitors were from abroad, said a spokesperson for the Museum Association. But now, tourism has slowed down. Meanwhile, Dutch people in poor health are avoiding public places.

Although they have high hopes for the new season after the summer, these cultural institutions are also wary of a new wave of coronavirus and the restrictions that could follow. Ultimately, it's important that theaters, cinemas and museums do not have to close their doors again, the representatives told the NOS.

"We no longer have meat on the bones," said Siebe Weide of the Association of Theater and Concertgebouw Directors (VSCD).