The museum of Louvre in Paris, the largest in the world, registered in 2021 a new drop in visitors due to Covid-19, 70% compared to 2019 (the year before the start of the pandemic), almost the same figures as in 2020 (-72%) reported Wednesday.
The recovery of the public influx began to be noticed at the end of the year, but with the arrival of the Ómicron variant and the reimposition of restrictions, the unknowns returned to the French cultural world.
The Louvre was closed for five months in 2021 (January 1 to May 19) due to the health crisis. Throughout the year, it received 2.8 million visitors, that is, 100,000 more than in 2020, but an abysmal drop compared to the 9.6 million in 2019.
In 2018, the Louvre registered its record audience: 10.2 million people.
The museum, which houses among others the Gioconda by Leonardo da Vinci, opened 194 days in 2021. As of October, the influx began to normalize, and in two months (October and November) it received more visits than during the boreal summer of 2021.
As in 2020, these visitors were mainly French (61%). 28% were Parisians.
By nationality, the influx was as follows: 6.2% American, 6% German, 4.4% Italian, 4% Spanish, 3.2% Dutch, 2.1% British and 2.1% Belgian. Visits from Asian countries are almost non-existent.
20% of the visitors were under 18 years old (admission is free for young French and French European Union).
The fall in the influx meant a drastic reduction in income, of 80 million euros (about 90 million dollars) less compared to 2019.
The French state gave the Louvre 110 million euros (124 million dollars) in total, to compensate for those losses and to relaunch the museum’s activities. Another 6 million euros (6.7 million dollars) will arrive in 2022, the entity says.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx