Museum pass with record numbers and new tour
2024 was a record year for the Swiss Museum Pass: 1.4 million admissions were recorded with the offer - an increase of over seven percent. With this success behind it, the foundation is focusing on further growth and has appointed a new President, Christina Hanke, and a new Managing Director, Simone Franzen.
The Swiss Museum Pass, which allows free admission to over 500 museums, is enjoying growing demand. 1.4 million admissions were registered with the pass in 2024 - a new record. The Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne, the National Museum in Zurich and the Basel Art Museum in German-speaking Switzerland, Chillon Castle, the Pierre Gianadda Foundation and the Olympic Museum in French-speaking Switzerland as well as MASI Lugano and the castles of Bellinzona in Ticino were particularly popular.
Partner cards also ensure rising numbers
A large proportion of Museum Pass usage is due to Raiffeisen member benefits. Members of the bank have had access to the pass for over 25 years - in 2024, they used it for over one million admissions. International tourists are also increasingly accessing the Museum Pass: with the Swiss Travel Pass, the number of visits increased by around 10 percent, particularly at attractions such as Chillon Castle, the Lucerne Glacier Garden and the Fifa Museum Zurich.
Hanke and Franzen take over
Christina Hanke took over the chairmanship of the Swiss Museum Pass Foundation at the turn of the year. She has been a member of the Board of Trustees for a year and has many years of experience in marketing cultural and tourism offers, including as former CEO of the Foxtrail leisure company. She is currently heading the NEXPO initiative for the next Swiss National Exhibition.
"The success of the museum pass is overwhelming," says Hanke. "But it still has great potential. We want to further increase awareness and make museum visits even more attractive."
Simone Franzen will take over the operational management. The long-standing head of finance at the foundation has been part of the team for 26 years and knows the museum landscape inside out.
