Fewer Visitors to Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum Spells Success: Here’s Why
Photo Credit: The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam Flickr / Henry Burrows
Skift Take
In the age of overtourism, a top tourist attraction admitting they have a carrying capacity is a quietly radical act. For the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, it's one that has paid off.
In 2017, a record-breaking 2.26 million people visited the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. It was the highest-ever attendance for the hugely popular tourist attraction, with the average visitor numbers in prior years hovering around 1.5 million.
But crowding in the gallery was rife. Wait times at the cloakroom were too long. Entering the museum involved snaking queues, as well. Extending the museum's opening hours was not an option because it would expose the artwork to too much light.
In response, the museum did something that seems quite novel — even in the context of 2019, where concerns about overtourism are never far from mind. They admitted that welcoming ever-more visitors was a not a wise or realistic goal.
As Laurine van de Wiel and Ellen Feberwee — who serve as the museum's senior marketing advisor and
