Admission prices to the Louvre Museum in Paris will rise by 45% for most non-EU visitors. This was decided by the museum board, quoted Friday (28/11).

From early next year, tourists from countries such as the United States (US), Britain and China will have to pay 32 euros (around Rp. 617 thousand) to enter the museum, a price increase that is expected to raise millions of euros a year to fund an overhaul of the famous gallery.

The museum’s security and management have faced criticism since a brutal robbery in October, when a gang of four stole jewelry worth US$102 million (approximately IDR 1.7 trillion) and fled within minutes.

An official audit of the museum published shortly after the robbery highlighted inadequate security systems and aging infrastructure.

From January 14, visitors from countries outside the European Economic Area – a group that includes European Union member states Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein – will pay an additional 10 euros to enter the world’s most visited museum.

The Louvre Museum received nearly 9 million visitors last year, with the majority coming from abroad. More than a tenth of its visitors come from the US and about 6% from China, according to the museum.

There have long been calls to overcome museums’ capacity to accommodate large crowds, with visitors often complaining of overcrowded galleries and long queues.

In January, French President Emmanuel Macron and the Louvre Museum announced improvements to the museum, and proposed higher fees for non-EU residents by 2026.

Macron also said the Mona Lisa would be moved to a new space to overcome overcrowding.

Most of the Louvre Museum’s 30,000 daily visitors flock to see Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece. Crowds of people crammed into the Salle des États – the gallery where the Mona Lisa is on display – so that each visitor only had a few moments to look at the painting and take photos.

The Louvre will also renovate other areas of the museum and add new facilities such as restrooms and restaurants—upgrades that are expected to cost hundreds of millions of euros.

Earlier this month, the Louvre announced the closure of a gallery exhibiting Greek ceramics due to structural problems.

An investigation after the theft in October found that the museum had spent more money purchasing new works of art, but far less on maintenance and restoration. (bbc/Z-1)