Museumkaart reaches record number of cardholders
In 2025, the number of cardholders rose to more than 1.54 million and cardholders visited museums more often again.
At the end of 2025, the Museumkaart had 1,540,188 cardholders, the highest number ever. Cardholders made more than 9.7 million visits to participating museums in total, according to figures from the Museumvereniging.
The growth represents an increase of 3.2 per cent compared with the end of 2024. The number of museum visits by cardholders was also higher than a year earlier. In 2024, there were more than 9.5 million; in 2023, the figure was above 9.4 million, according to the Museumvereniging.
The Museumkaart currently costs €75 for adults and €39 for young people up to and including the age of 18. Revenue from sales is distributed among participating museums based on visits and admission prices. This makes the card not only a public-engagement instrument, but also a funding mechanism within the sector.
In 2025, a cardholder visited a museum an average of 6.46 times. According to research commissioned by the Museumvereniging, people with a card visit a museum almost three times as often as people without one. The research shows an association, but by itself does not prove that the card alone causes the difference.
For museums outside the major cities, the card is relatively important. The Museumvereniging says that a significant proportion of their visitors are cardholders. This can help institutions reach a broad audience, but also makes them more dependent on the distribution formula and on how people use their cards.
The growth coincides with a digital change. In 2025, the digital Museumkaart was launched as an app. By the end of that year, there were around 500,000 digital cards, approximately one-third of the total. The app is intended to make use easier and includes measures to prevent people from passing on a personal card.
The figures should nevertheless be viewed in context. The Museumvereniging previously reported that total museum attendance in 2024 was close to its pre-coronavirus level, but had not yet fully returned to the level of 2019. A record for the Museumkaart therefore does not automatically mean that every museum or region is seeing the same growth.
The new figures mainly point to the Museumkaart's strong position within the Dutch museum system. They say less about the financial health of individual institutions. That also depends on their own ticket sales, subsidies, catering, shop revenue, exhibitions and the distribution of visitors between large and small institutions.
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The figures on cardholders, visits and the digital card were checked directly with the Museumvereniging. The broader context concerning total museum attendance was confirmed by NOS and the association's museum figures.
- confirmed At the end of 2025, there were 1,540,188 Museumkaart cardholders. — Mentioned in the Museumvereniging's publication. source
- confirmed Cardholders made more than 9.7 million visits in 2025. — Mentioned in the same publication. source
- confirmed The digital card had around 500,000 users at the end of 2025. — The Museumvereniging describes this as approximately 33 per cent of the total. source
- confirmed Total museum attendance in 2024 was still below the level of 2019. — This is shown by the Museumvereniging's 2024 museum figures. source
Editor's note
The figures for 2025 come from the Museumvereniging and are partly sector figures produced by the industry organisation itself. The text therefore makes no causal claim about the card's effectiveness.Sources
- Succes Museumkaart zet onverminderd door — Museumvereniging
- Museumkaart populairder, vooral bij mensen van 45 of jonger — NOS
- Museumcijfers 2024 — Museumvereniging
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