Museum attendance and income during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
In Italy, public museums are cultural institutions managed by the Italian Ministry of Culture, otherwise known as Ministero della Cultura (MiC), and local governmental authorities. Meanwhile, private museums are institutions managed by private entities. Due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many institutions saw a sharp decline in attendance. In the first year of the health crisis, attendance at Italian private museums stood at roughly 11.6 million, while the total number of visitors to state museums, monuments, and archaeological sites in Italy reached around 13 million. Although this figure rose to nearly 17 million in 2021, it remained way below pre-pandemic levels. Similarly, attendance at the archaeological park of the Colosseum in Rome – one of the most visited museums In Italy – slightly increased in 2021 but did not catch up with the volume of visitors from 2019.With the decrease in attendance came a decline in revenue. While the Colosseum topped the list of the tourist attractions generating the highest income in Italy in 2021, it lost nearly 41 million euros when compared to 2019. Overall, the total income of state museums in Italy amounted to approximately 88.6 million euros in 2021, after having peaked at over 242 million euros in 2019.
