According to the annual report TEA / AECOM Theme Index and Museum Inde, which each year analyzes the data of the most visited museums and theme parks in the world, the most visited art gallery of 2015 is The Louvre in Paris, with a total of 8,7 million visits, 6,5% less than the previous year.
However, there are many other museums that follow in visits and interest. Below we review which museums complete the top 20 of the most frequented.
The most visited museums in the world
We have pointed out that the Louvre museum stands out as the winner of this peculiar ranking. However, like the rest of the museums that occupy the top positions in the annual TEA / AECOM Theme Index and Museum Inde report, it has also registered declines in visitors this year.
Along with The Louvre, the coveted podium of the world's most visited museums is completed by the National Museum of China and the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, with 7,2 million visitors (4,5% less) and a total of 6,9 million visitors (5,5% less), respectively.
They are followed by the National Air Space Museum in Washington with 6,9 million tourists (3% more) and the British Museum in London (United Kingdom) with 6,8 million visitors (1,9% more). The Metropolitan in New York (6,3 million visits), the Vatican Museums (6 million) and the National Gallery in London (5,9 million visits) close the list of the most visited museums. On the list this year are the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum with 5,9 million visitors (a growth of almost 41%) and the National Palace Museum of Taiwan with 5,2 million visitors (2,1 % less).
The museum with the highest drop in visits
The biggest drop in visitors was experienced by the Tate Modern in London It reached 4,7 million visitors, 18,5% less than the previous year when a total of 5,7 million people visited its facilities.
What is the city with the most visited museums?
With a total of six museums, the capital with the largest number of museums visited is London (United Kingdom), followed by Washington (United States) with four, then New York (United States), Paris (France) and Beijing (China) with two museums each. The next are Taiwan, China and Russia, all of them with a museum, and finally the Vatican City, which also has a museum among the most visited in the world.
No Spanish museum among the 20 most visited
The Prado Museum (2,6 million visits) and the Reina Sofía Museum (3,2 million visitors) broke their own visitor records in 2015 but still could not access the coveted list of the 20 most visited museums in the world .
The Reina Sofía Museum was on the verge of achieving it since this place is occupied by the London Science Museum, which has a total of 3,3 million visitors, only one hundred thousand more than the Madrid art gallery.
Changes that museums around the world are experiencing
Museums are adapting to new trends and the situation of the world population. In this context, according to the TEA / AECOM Theme Index and Museum Inde report, the democratization of new technologies has allowed leisure and information to reach people's homes directly. This has changed the expectations of the population in their visits to traditional museums and, therefore, the demand to visit them.
In any case, there is no doubt that those museums that have seen their visits decrease will already be thinking about how to improve their visits in the future, in a context in which many museums are rethinking their strategy of attracting new visitors by applying new technologies or social networks to reach the public in a more interesting way.
Europe and North America are mature and stable markets. Fluctuations in museum attendance in these markets will be driven by popular temporary exhibitions. In addition, the report indicates that the income obtained is growing especially in the markets of the United States.
For its part, growth in Asia, especially in China, is very dynamic, similar to theme parks. Thus, forecasts point to China's museums occupying the top positions in these rankings over the next five years.
Final list of most visited museums
Louvre Museum, Paris.
National Museum of China, Beijing.
National Museum of Natural History, Washington.
National Air and Space Museum, Washington.
British Museum, London.
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Vatican Museums.
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum.
National Gallery, London.
Taiwan National Palace Museum, Taipei.
Natural History Museum, London.
American Museum of Natural History, New York.
Tate Modern, London.
National Gallery of Art, Washington.
National Museum of American History, Washington.
State Hermitage, Saint Petersburg.
Orsay Museum, Paris.
Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
China Science and Technology Museum, Beijing.
Science Museum (South Kensington), London.