Record number of residents used the Museum Card to visit Dutch museums in 2024
By Simone Jacobs
Research by the Museum Association has revealed that in 2024, there were 9,6 million visits made to Dutch museums using the Museum Card. This is 100.000 visits more than the previous year - a new record high.
More museum visits in the Netherlands with Museum Card
The Museum Card in the Netherlands allows users unlimited access to over 500 museums throughout the country for an entire year. It costs just 75 euros per year for adults and 39 euros for children under the age of 18.
In 2023, museums in the Netherlands had a good year with 9,5 million visits from Museum Card holders alone. Last year saw an even better year with an increase of 100.000 visitors marking a record year.
According to the Museum Association, an average of 1,5 million people used their Museum Cards to make 6,4 museum visits for 2024. While this is down slightly from the previous year where there were 6,6 visits, it doesn’t necessarily mean fewer people had museum outings.
“Because the number of Museum Card holders has increased, it can be said that Museum Card holders have on average been to the museum (slightly) less, but that more people have visited museums,” the association said in a statement.
Museum Card holders visit museums three times more often
A person with a Museum Card has been shown to visit a museum around three times more often than someone without a card. Among young adults (aged 19 to 35) this is even higher at 3,5 times.
Not only does the Museum Card mean the number of visitors to museums is 23 percent higher, with 16 percent higher spending - including food and stops in museum shops - but museums also receive compensation for every Museum Card visit. Plus, Museum Card holders often bring friends and family along who don’t have cards, adding an extra 0,7 million visits to the total. “With an average of 1,5 million holders and a contribution of 75 million euros to the museums, the Museum Card is a stable and important factor in the cultural landscape,” said Vera Carasso, director of the Museum Association and the Museum Card Foundation.
Thumb image credit: Jaroslav Moravcik / Shutterstock.com
Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training. Read more