Dutch museums attracted nearly 31 million visitors last year; Small museums popular

Last year, Dutch museums attracted 30.8 million visitors. The total number of museum visitors in 2024 remained virtually unchanged compared to the previous year, but small museums saw their visitor numbers grow by 8 percent, the Museum Association reported based on its own research.

“The Museum Card plays an important role in this,” the association said about the increased popularity of small museums. Never before have so many people held a Museum Card, which grants unlimited access to the 473 affiliated museums.

Last year, 1.5 million people held a Museum Card. Young people still make up the smallest share of cardholders, but this group is growing fastest. Over a quarter of all visitors came from abroad, also a stable number compared to 2023.

Museums generated a turnover of €1.31 billion last year. Almost half of this came from their own income from ticket sales and museum shops, among other things. Museums also received 665 million euros in subsidies.

Approximately 44,000 people work at museums, 66 percent of whom are volunteers or interns.