The MDC published the data based on a survey to which 143 museums responded, which is 85% of the 168 listed in the Register of Public and Private Museums in Croatia. The survey showed that Croatian museums had a total of 3,458,338 visitors last year.
"Bearing in mind the circumstances in which Zagreb's museums, including our largest national museums, found themselves after the earthquake, these are actually excellent data," the MDC said, adding that the museums, even after a 35% increase in visitors compared to 2021, still had 34% fewer visitors compared to the last pre-pandemic year and that they had about the same number of visitors as ten years ago.
This year again, the most visited museum was the Archaeological Museum of Istria, which includes the collections in the Pula Arena. Last year, they had 509,778 visitors, which brings the museum back to more than half a million of visitors, a figure it recorded in 2018 and 2019. This increase, the MDC said, is a reflection of the rise in the number of tourist visits to Istria.
The Museums of Croatian Zagorje is the second most visited with 301,508 visitors, and Zagreb's Technical Museum Nikola Tesla is the third with 259,493 visits. According to the MDC, the Technical Museum Nikola Tesla recorded 136% more visitors compared to 2021, which it achieved through numerous events: 25 open exhibitions and 4,769 guided tours.
Dubrovnik's museums had 235,526 visitors, ranking fourth, and the Split City Museum is the fifth most visited, having attracted 210,103 visitors together with the Cellars of Diocletian's Palace.