The number of museum visitors rose by 27% in 2023 compared to 2022, although almost a fifth of Croatian museums were closed for renovation work or the realisation of new permanent exhibitions, the Museum Documentation Centre (MDC) announced on Tuesday.

According to the results of a survey conducted by the MDC in 156 museums, museums had 4,397,405 visitors in 2023, only 16% fewer than in 2019, before the pandemic, when the number of museum visitors was 5.2 million.

For the ninth consecutive year, the Archaeological Museum of Istria in Pula attracted the most visitors, namely 558,000, followed by the Dubrovnik museums with a record 413,000 visitors, the museums of Croatian Zagorje (312,000), the Nikola Tesla Technical Museum (259,000) and the Split City Museum, which together with the cellars of Diocletian’s Palace attracted 252,000 visitors.

The number of foreign visitors also increased by 68% to 1.532 million, with the Archaeological Museum of Istria, the Dubrovnik Museums and the Split City Museum accounting for almost two thirds of these visits.

The number of visitors to permanent exhibitions also increased by 31.5% to 2.752 million, while the number of primary and secondary school students visiting museums rose by 21.8% to 610,000 in 2023 compared to 2022.