Even though almost a fifth of the Croatian museums closed their doors in the past year due to renovations or the realization of new permanent exhibitions, there was a 27 % increase in visitor numbers in 2023 compared with 2022.

According to the results of a survey conducted by the Museum Documentation Center (MDC), to which 91% of the museums entered in the Register of Public and Private Museums in the Republic of Croatia responded, there were 4,397,405 visitors to Croatian museums in the past year, which is 16% less compared with the reference, pre-pandemic 2019 when there were 5.2 million recorded visits.

The most visited museum for the ninth year is the Archaeological Museum of Istria, which attracted 558,000 visitors, achieving a 9.6% increase in attendance compared with 2022.

The Dubrovnik Museums came in second place, with a record 413,000 visits. The steep 75% increase compared with 2022 is partly attributed to the rise in tourist overnight stays but mainly to the fact that the Dubrovnik Museums began to record this category of visitors in 2023.

In third place are the Museums of Hrvatsko Zagorje (312,000 visits), followed by the Nikola Tesla Technical Museum (259,000), while in fifth place is the Split City Museum (252,000 visitors).

According to individual categories, the highest increase was reported in the visits of foreign tourists, which grew by 68% to around 1,532,000 visitors, of which almost two-thirds are accounted for by only three museums—the Archaeological Museum of Istria, the Dubrovnik Museums, and the Split City Museum.

There was also a significant rise in the visits to permanent exhibitions, which grew by 31.5% to 2,752,000 visitors, and in visits by primary and secondary school students, which recorded a 21,8% increase (610,000).

Looking at the cities, Pula somewhat surprisingly took first place, whose three museums—the Archaeological Museum of Istria, the Historical and Maritime Museum of Istria, and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Istria—received 752,000 visits. The City of Zagreb fell to second place with 712,000 visits to museums, while in third place with 621,000 visits is Dubrovnik.

Considering that half of Zagreb museums are closed for renovation or reconstruction after the earthquake and that over ten museums across Croatia are in various stages of energy renovation or creation of new permanent exhibits, the 27% increase in attendance is an excellent result. The numbers that are slowly approaching the reference pre-pandemic 2019 can be explained by the rise in foreign tourists, who make up an increasingly important segment of the audience of Croatian museums, but also changes in attitudes towards visitors, the revitalization of numerous historical sites managed by museums, the enhancement of experiences, interactivity and the use of multimedia in the promotion of cultural heritage which led to new forms of cooperation with the creative sector, opening the door to attracting new users of all ages and different interests.

Visitor survey 2023 (pdf)

(Ivan Guberina, published originally in News from the Museum World 213, 20 February 2024; edited and translated by Ivona Marić)