China’s Museums Remain Popular, but US Visitor Numbers Hit by Federal Shutdown

Institutions across China continued to dominate the rankings of the world’s most-visited museums in 2025, while Washington’s federal museums suffered steep declines in visitor numbers following the US government shutdown, according to the latest figures from the Global Experience Index.

The yearly research, published recently by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), recorded 161.4 million visits across its global top 20 museums in 2025, up 5.4 percent from the same institutions in 2024. But behind the figures are some revealing insights into what brings audiences through the doors—and what keeps them out.

Chinese institutions accounted for 12 of the top 20 museums, led by Beijing’s Palace Museum with 19 million visits, an increase of 11.8 percent on its 2024 figures. With Gen Z accounting for more than half of museum visits across China, the report emphasises an increased focus on technology among China’s museums, with more institutions embracing immersive and AI-focused exhibitions, alongside retail, branded products and cross-industry partnerships.

“Museums [in China] are also becoming destinations in their own right,” the report states. “In major Chinese cities, a museum visit can be a primary reason for travelling to an area rather than an activity added to a broader sightseeing itinerary.”

However, elsewhere, figures were less positive. Overall growth across North America’s 20 most-visited museums totalled just 0.7 percent, compared with 5 percent across the Asia Pacific and 5.5 percent across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). 

The modest figure for North America conceals a sharper divide. Visits to the federally funded National Gallery of Art in Washington DC fell by 28.9 percent to 2.8 million, while attendance at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History and National Museum of American History declined by 15.4 percent and 14.3 percent respectively.

The report links those losses to the US’s 43-day federal shutdown, which closed the National Gallery for approximately 40 days and Smithsonian museums for around 33 days, including during the busy autumn period. 

At privately funded institutions, audiences grew. Visits to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City—the only US institution to make the global top 20—increased by 4.5 percent to reach 5.98 million, supported by the reopening of the institution’s Michael C Rockefeller Wing. At MoMA, attendance increased by 5.4 percent, while the Art Institute of Chicago gained 13.3 percent.

“Every federal museum on the list with a 2025 attendance figure recorded a double-digit decline,” the report confirmed. However, it added that, despite this, “the results suggest that demand for major museums remained healthy”.

There was also change across the wider Asia Pacific, with The National Museum of Korea achieving the global top 20’s biggest percentage increase of 68.3 percent, placing 12th with 6.51 million visitors. The report attributes the museum’s success to wider interest in Korean culture, including K-Pop, alongside its MU:DS merchandise programme.

Elsewhere, the Musée de Louvre remained the most-visited institution outside China, and the fourth most-attended globally, with 9.05 million visits. London’s National Gallery, which did not make the global top 20 but remains among the 10 most-visited EMEA museums, welcomed nearly 30 percent more visitors in 2025 than in the previous year, achieving a total of 4.15 million.

The report links this significant rise to the gallery’s largest-ever collection rehang, CC Land: The Wonder of Art, and the reopening of the transformed Sainsbury Wing, “which restored visitor capacity that had been reduced during renovation”.

The TEA’s latest rankings do come with a qualification. The organisation this year expanded its definition to include historic palaces and cultural sites with museum components, allowing institutions including Versailles and Seoul’s Gyeongbokgung Palace to enter the global top 20.