The Louvre Museum in Paris, France, has announced it will increase ticket prices for most non-EU visitors by 45%. This means that tourists from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and China will have to pay an extra 10 euros (48 ringgit) for admission.
The museum stated that the price increase is aimed at raising 20 million euros (95.8 million ringgit) annually to address “structural problems.” Just last month, the museum was the site of a globally shocking theft of Napoleon’s jewels.
The museum and staff unions said that, following approval of the new pricing measure at the museum’s board meeting, starting January 14th next year, tourists from outside the EU, as well as from Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, will need to pay 32 euros (153 ringgit) for tickets, which is 10 euros more than the previous year.
A report from the Louvre showed that in 2024, the museum received 8.7 million visitors, of whom 69% were foreign tourists. The report stated that American visitors were the most numerous, while Chinese tourists ranked third.
Multiple unions criticize discrimination
Multiple unions have criticized the museum’s decision to end a unified admission fee for all nationalities, with the French Democratic Confederation of Labour warning that this move would be seen as “discriminatory.”
On October 19th, four thieves broke into the Louvre and, in just seven minutes, stole precious jewels worth about $102 million (421 million ringgit) before fleeing the scene on motorcycles.
Official investigations show that the museum’s security equipment is insufficient, and museum management had previously issued warnings regarding issues with the facility.