Virtual Museum of Flanders receives more than 400,000 visits in first year

Flanders All Around Museum (FAAM), a virtual museum about the region, has been visited 416,000 times since its launch a year ago. The museum allows visitors to interactively discover Flemish history and heritage.

The website and app were an initiative of the previous Flemish government and received 1 million euros in funding per year. The government aimed to make it the largest virtual museum in the world and has added more than 500 heritage sites and events.

Since its launch in March last year, FAAM has received an average of 1,000 visitors a day, for a total of 366,942 unique visitors, according to figures requested by Flemish MP Gijs Degrande. The FAAM app was downloaded 10,913 times last year.

Solid start

Compared to the number of visitors to physical museums in Flanders, FAAM is "doing very well", said Degrande, a member of Flemish nationalist party N-VA. "Only the KMSKA is doing better, with more than 500,000 visitors," he said.

"The museum has clearly made a solid start. The task now is to continue to develop this successful formula in the future, both in terms of content and user experience."

The evaluation of FAAM's first year is still ongoing, but the initial figures show a positive trend. A meeting day will soon be held where the heritage sector will discuss the future of the virtual museum, with plans to focus on better engagement with users. The museum will also be made available in English by the end of 2025.

^{#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM}