Louvre loses 70% of visitors in 2021 compared to 2019 | Pop & Art

This percentage is almost the same as in 2020, when plummeted 72%.

The recovery of the public flow began to be observed at the end of the year, but, with the arrival of the omicron variant and the reimposition of restrictions, uncertainties returned to the French cultural world.

The Louvre was closed for five months in 2021, from January 1 to May 19, due to the health crisis. Throughout the year, it received 2.8 million visitors, i.e. 100,000 more than in 2020, but an abysmal drop compared to the 9.6 million in 2019.

In 2018, the Louvre recorded its record audience: 10.2 million people.

The museum, which houses Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, among other masterpieces, was open for 194 days in 2021. From October, the number of visitors began to normalize and, in two months (October and November) , received more visits than during the boreal summer of 2021 (winter in Brazil).

As in 2020, these visitors were mostly French (61%) and, of these, 28%, Parisians.

By nationality, the percentage of visitors was as follows: 6.2% Americans; 6% from Germans; 4.4% of Italians; 4% from Spaniards; 3.2% from Dutch; 2.1% from British; and 2.1% from Belgians. There were practically no visitors from Asian countries.

A good part of the visitors (20%) are under 18 years old. Entrance to the Louvre is free for young people from France and the European Union.

The drop in the number of visitors meant a drastic cash reduction of 80 million euros (about US$ 90 million) compared to 2019.