The Louvre has announced plans to limit daily attendance to 30,000 in order to improve the visitor experience after welcoming 7.8 million guests in 2022.
The institution has been managing its visitor numbers in recent years, encouraging guests to book online. This provides a more enjoyable experience with smaller crowds.
The museum’s 2020 figures show a 19 percent drop compared to 2019, but an increase of 170 percent from 2021 when French institutions were closed due to the pandemic.
Improving the visitor experience
In a statement, the Louvre’s director Laurence des Cars said: “The extremely positive figures for 2022 are tremendously encouraging for all our staff.
“I hope that visitors enjoy spending time at the Musée du Louvre, particularly those discovering the museum for the first time, who represent 60 percent of them.
“We are working ever harder to improve visiting conditions and to continue to offer a programme of great quality and a unique array of live performances resonating with what’s on at the museum.”
In 2022, 30 percent of visitors to the Louvre were French. The remaining 70 percent came mostly from countries such as the US (18 percent), Germany (8 percent), Italy (8 percent), Spain (5 percent), and the UK (6 percent).
Per a press release, 45 percent of visitors were under the age of 25, and 40 percent of guests received free admission. As above, more than 60 percent of visitors enjoyed the Louvre for the first time.
As for the institution’s digital attendance, the website had more than 12 million visits, an increase of 32 percent compared to 2021.
This comes after the Louvre launched an online collection database and new website to showcase more than 480,000 works, including the Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa, and Winged Victory of Samothrace.
On social media, the Louvre has more than 10 million subscribers, including 4.9 million followers on Instagram and more than 100,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Images: Louvre
