The state of museums in Iran and the world, part 2

Iran has many museums because of the rich history and civilization it possesses. Iran's best and most important museums are located in Tehran. Tehran's museums, because of their age and fame, also have many visitors.

The number of museum visits is an important measure of each museum's importance. Museums are a reason many tourists travel, and museum admission fees, the use of hotels, and visits to other tourist sites in the destination countries boost tourism in these areas.

The conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the closing of borders caused museum visitors to fall to a minimum. Iran's museums, from the most thriving to the least thriving, were affected by this event. In this piece we have examined the situation of museums in Iran and the world.

COVID-19 and the world's famous museums

The coronavirus disrupted many industries. The world's famous museums did not emerge from this event unscathed. In 2019 visits to the Louvre were 10 million. But this figure reached 2 million in 2020. This decline and the Louvre's closure inflicted 40 million euros in damage on this museum. This downward trend also happened for other museums around the world, and their visitors fell. The largest decline belonged to the National Museum of China, which went from more than 7 million people to 1 million visitors a year. This decline, in addition to the pandemic and the closing of borders, was also due to the excessive drop in passenger arrivals to China as a result of propaganda against this country.

The spread of the coronavirus caused restrictions and the closure of leisure and tourism centers in the world and of museums. For this reason, by observing health protocols and special measures they tried to make museum visits possible for tourists. Visits to the world's best museums experienced a sharp decline with the closing of borders. Two years after the start of the pandemic, with mass vaccination and the resumption of travel, we will see an increase in visits to the world's most beautiful museums.

The decline in visits to Iran's most important museums during COVID-19

From 1390 (2011/12) to 1399 (2020/21), the increase in the number of museums in Iran has been slow and with a gentle slope, and in the meantime private museums have been added at a faster pace. In 1395 (2016/17) the number of museums fell over a 5-year period, and the following year this shortfall was made up.

From 1390 (2011/12) to 1395 (2016/17), visitors to Iranian museums experienced a decline of 5 million. After that, over 3 years, by 1398 (2019/20) it returned to its position in 1390 (2011/12). In 1399 (2020/21) and with the start of the pandemic, the closing of museums followed, and visits to Iran's museums fell to one-seventh.

The peak years of foreign tourist visits to museums in the past decade were 1395–1397 (2016–2019). The decline in foreign visitors began from 1398 (2019/20) with a drop of 200 thousand people. The following year, 1399 (2020/21), with the start of the pandemic and the closing of borders, the decline in tourist arrivals to Iran had no result other than a decline in visitors and museum admissions. The sharp decline in foreign and Iranian visitors together was a result of the critical COVID-19 situation, but the trends also show a decline in the number of foreign visitors that is clearly due to other reasons.

The world's top museums by number of visits

The Louvre's fame is global, but alongside this museum there are other museums that are not far behind it and each year draw millions of enthusiasts to those destinations. The Louvre sits at the top of this table and has more than 10 million visitors a year. Of course many visitors come to this museum to see the Louvre's most important works, including da Vinci's Mona Lisa paintings.

The National Museum of China is located in Beijing. This museum has more than 7 million visitors a year. From the merger of the Museum of the Chinese Revolution and the National Museum of Chinese History, in 2003 this collection came into being as one of the world's largest museums.

The third most-visited and busiest museum in the world, the Vatican Museums in Italy have more than 6 million visitors a year. These museums are more than 500 years old and many of their frescoes are works of Michelangelo.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is the world's fourth most popular museum. This museum is also called the Met for short and has more than 6 million visitors a year. It also houses a very brilliant collection of Islamic works. In addition to the important historical works held in this museum, this museum also hosts the famous Met Gala in its fashion and costume hall.

The British Museum in London also has more than 6 million visitors a year, and more than 8 million objects are held in it. In addition, the British Museum is very well known because of its online database.

Conclusion

The appeal of travel is the cultural experiences specific to the place that has been traveled to. The world's largest museums are a great wealth with the color and scent of that country's history and art. Visiting a museum and seeing ancient works and artistic and cultural attractions, or seeing the skeleton of a prehistoric animal, is a pleasurable and distinctive experience for tourists. About fifty-five thousand museums exist in the world with diverse and sometimes strange and distinctive specializations and subjects. Such as the Dog Collar Museum in England or the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum in Tennessee, USA, which are among the world's most famous museums. From among several names of the world's famous museums, we have mentioned a few of them in this piece.