With season tickets, visitors return to the museum at least 6 times more. The study in Piedmont and Lombardy

Imagining forms of season tickets to enter museums is a practice that does good and brings the public back to the museum: this, at least, is the thinking in Piedmont, Lombardy and Valle d’Aosta, where theAbbonamento Musei Association, a network that brings together dozens of institutions throughout the region and even beyond (mainly in the provinces of Turin and Milan) has just released figures for 2023. These data, processed by the Santagata Foundation and collected in the publication “25 Years at the Museum,” will be presented on Monday, May 13 at the Turin Book Fair.

They are very positive data: thanks to the subscription (which with different formulas, starting from 45 euros a year, allows to visit from a minimum of 245 museums up to all the member museums, 480), in 2023 there were 1,219,467 entries in the institutions with more than 190,000 cards sold and an increase of 29% compared to 2022. It has been shown that subscribers (average age 48, mainly residing in the provinces of Turin and Milan) return to the museum 6 times more frequently than normal.

Museum Subscription is confirmed as a valuable cultural welfare tool: 6.5 million returned to museums, an estimated 1.3 million more than in a system without Subscription. In Piedmont alone, nearly one million people accessed museum facilities with the Abbonamento Musei card, followed by 244,457 in Lombardy and 69,082 in Valle d’Aosta. This is according to research commissioned by the Abbonamento Musei Association and conducted by the Santagata Foundation, which will be presented as part of the Turin International Book Fair on May 13.

The study, which is the basis of the publication “25 Years at the Museum - The Contribution of Abbonamento Musei to Cultural Consumption in Piedmont and Lombardy from 1998 to Today,” edited by Paola Borrione and Camilla Lo Schiavo, offers a detailed look at the evolution of cultural consumption and the influence of the Association within the cultural landscape and the member exhibitions, also integrating a sociological perspective. The volume includes contributions and analyses by experts and academics such as Alessandro Bollo, Andrea Cancellato, Michele Lazinger, and Angelo Miglietta, as well as an introduction by Association President Alberto Garlandini and Director Simona Ricci.

According to findings from the “25 Years at the Museum” survey, the initiative promoted by Abbonamento Musei has significantly increased the number of museum visits, generating a significant increase in revenue. In the past year, compared to a context without the subscription, there was an increase of more than 920,000 euros in Piedmont and 398,000 euros in Lombardy.

The effect of the Museum Subscription on demand for exhibitions and museums is particularly evident in Piedmont, where the Association has operated since its inception. Although the cultural consumption of Piedmontese, according to ISTAT surveys, is lower than the national average and placed last among the Northwest regions, mainly due to a relatively low level of education, interest in museum institutions presents a different picture. In this specific cultural category, Piedmont stands out for a consistent tendency to rank among the Italian regions with the highest number of “strong” visitors.

The Abbonamento Musei pass, introduced in Turin in 1995, guarantees one year’s access to the many museums affiliated with the circuit, which includes more than 480 institutions in Piedmont, Lombardy and Valle d’Aosta. This diverse panorama includes museums, art galleries, castles, historic residences, botanical gardens and places of worship. In addition, the Association boasts a database of more than 337,000 culture enthusiasts, representing a key resource for promoting exhibitions and museums effectively and establishing a direct link with subscribers.

With a newsletter open rate of 34.01 percent, higher than the industry average, Abbonamento Musei demonstrates its ability to reach an audience that is attentive and interested in cultural offerings, thus helping to spread knowledge and appreciation for the region’s artistic and historical heritage.

As Alberto Garlandini, President of the Abbonamento Musei Association, points out, “We operate in close contact with local institutions, promoting a wide palimpsest of proposals through continuous, clear and constant communication. The number of our members has gradually grown over the years, helping to lower prices and simplify access to museums. In 2023, the number of subscribers grew by 29% over the previous year, with a total of 191,703 passes sold. A figure that far exceeds the 2019 numbers.”

“The analysis of the process of networking museum institutions, from the construction of communication tools and strategies to the design of new ways to engage audiences, highlighted the great value of Museum Subscription for the citizens of Piedmont and Lombardy and for the museum sector.”, said Fondazione Santagata President Paola Borrione, “Fondazione Santagata is pleased to have contributed to this research project that has provided new insights for the implementation of national policies to support cultural consumption and expand museum audiences.”

With season tickets, visitors return to the museum at least 6 times more. The study in Piedmont and Lombardy

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