Belgian museum pass has record 118,000 subscribers

Belgium’s museumPassmusées boasts a record number of more than 118,000 subscribers. The annual card offers discounts to more than 220 museums around the country, report local media.

"2022 marked the big breakthrough with the general public," director Erika T'Jaeckx told L'Echo newspaper.

Since 2018, the museum pass has achieved its key mission of increasing the number of museum visits in Belgium by offering an annual subscription to 226 participating institutions, reports Bruzz.

Out of 500,000 visits to institutions around the country, an estimated 380,000 can be attributed to the annual museum card, which costs €59.

"For each visit, the museum receives a fee of 50% of its standard rate when scanning the pass, explained T'Jaeckx.

It also encourages subscribers to return to a museum or visit other ones in the network. She highlighted Bozar in Brussels, which is the most visited Belgian arts centre among pass holders. "Every new exhibition encourages subscribers to return... but the pass also stimulates the discovery of hidden gems."

The success of the museum pass has important financial implications for the sector. The 118,000 subscribers to the card, who made more than half a million visits in 2022, generated a total of almost €3 million in revenue for the 226 partner museums.