The uptrend in museum attendance continued

In 2014, there were 2,919 museum visits per 1,000 inhabitants in Estonia, which is the highest figure known in Europe according to Egmus.eu. Next up are Norway (2,142 visits per 1,000 inhabitants), Sweden (1,920) and Slovenia (1,727).

The average expenditure per a visitor of a museum, art exhibition or a cultural site was 9.2 euros, 4.7 euros of which was spent at the venue, and 4.5 euros upon driving there and back. 3.3 euros per visitor were spent on tickets and 1.4 euros on food, drink and other items. An average of 2.4 euros was spent on transport and more than 2 euros on other expenses outside the venue. The total expenditure of the visitors of Estonian museums, art exhibitions and cultural sites is nearly 28.5 million euros per year.

In 2014, there were 256 active museums in Estonia, 83 of which were local lore museums, 45 history and archaeology museums, 20 art museums, 6 ethnography and anthropology museums, 3 natural history museums and 99 other museums.

There were 1,867 employees in Estonian museums, which is 139 persons more than the year before. Several museums are also run by volunteers only. In 2014, there were 486 volunteers involved in museum activities.

On Saturday, 16 May, Estonia once again celebrates the European Night of Museums. For this year’s events, Estonian museums have picked the theme “Music in the Night”. More information is available at http://www.muuseumiöö.ee/