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Institute for Museum Research reports visit figures for museums in Germany in the first coronavirus year 2020
Press release from 12/17/2021
Corona-related changes: Visitor numbers slumped as expected - creative potential unleashed, also in the digital world
33.6 million visits to German museums: 70% fewer than in the previous year
The museums participating in the survey reported a total of 33,550,296 visits in 2020. This is a good two-thirds fewer than were recorded in 2019 (-69.9%). Of the 6,484 museums contacted, 45% reported their visit figures to the Institute for Museum Research. A further 10% stated that they were not open to visitors in 2020 due to renovation work or the pandemic.
The first coronavirus year 2020 brought dramatic changes to the German museum landscape. Lockdowns in spring and late autumn led to statutory closures of between 96 days (Thuringia) and 118 days (Schleswig-Holstein). Institutions that decided to open in the summer were barely able to fully utilise their visitor capacity due to strict hygiene requirements. The current results of the overall statistical survey make it clear: after decades of steadily rising visitor numbers, most recently 111.6 million in 2019, 2020 marks a historic turning point for the museum and exhibition sector.
2.3 million visits to exhibition centres: 57% fewer than in 2019
The separately collected visitor figures for exhibition centres also fell sharply compared to 2019. For 2020, this totalled 2,328,333 visits (-57.1%). Of the 505 institutions contacted, 60% reported their visit figures to the Institute for Museum Research.
"Closed, but always there": increase in digital activities
Despite the pandemic, museums that organised special exhibitions were particularly active, as in previous years. 1,449 museums reported a total of 3,599 special exhibitions, i.e. an average of 2.5 exhibitions per museum. 11.6% of the exhibitions were presented digitally, and 2.1% were even purely digital exhibitions. 36% of the approximately 4,000 museums that responded also stated that they had expanded their digital activities overall. Not only have they moved existing offerings online (13%), but in many cases they have also developed new digital content and media (20%) or intensified their social media activities (25%).
For the Director of the Institute for Museum Research, Dr Patricia Rahemipour, one thing is certain: "Although the museums were unable to open to the public for at least three months, they were always there. They have used the time to research and work with their collections and develop innovative, often digital offerings. The crisis has given digitalisation an incredible boost."
David Vuillaume, Managing Director of the German Museums Association, adds: "After the initial shock, museums have reacted extremely well. Right from the start, they proved to be willing and able to convert. This is also reflected in how professionally and proactively they are now dealing with the challenges and how much the pandemic experience is shaping current discussions about the future and social relevance of museums."
Coming soon: more figures & materials on the consequences of the pandemic
Further information and data on the German museum landscape in the first year of coronavirus, in particular the results of the special survey on the consequences of the 2020 pandemic, can be found in the "Statistical survey of museums in the Federal Republic of Germany for 2020". The publication appears as issue 76 in the series "Zahlen & Materialien aus dem Institut für Museumsforschung" and will be available for download at journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/ifmzm/index from March 2022.
Further enquiries can be addressed to:
Institute for Museum Research
In der Halde 1, 14195 Berlin
Tel. 030/266 4269 01
Mail: ifm@smb.spk-berlin.de
