Stiftung Schweizer Museumspass

What Stiftung Schweizer Museumspass does

Stiftung Schweizer Museumspass is a Swiss non-profit foundation established in 1996 that operates the Swiss Museum Pass, a national subscription program granting free access to over 500 museums and castles across Switzerland for one year. The foundation was founded in collaboration with the Federal Office of Culture (Bundesamt für Kultur), Switzerland Tourism, and the Association of Swiss Museums (Verband der Schweizer Museen), and is headquartered at Heinrichstrasse 177, Zurich, governed by a Board of Trustees (Stiftungsrat). Its product portfolio consists of three annual subscription tiers — The Classic (1 person, CHF 147 regular CHF 177), For Young and Old (1 person + 3 children, CHF 182 regular CHF 212), and Family Pass (2 persons + 3 children, CHF 283 regular CHF 313) — each currently discounted by CHF 30 through December 31, 2026 as part of the foundation's 30th anniversary campaign.

The foundation operates a digital platform for pass issuance, with QR-coded passes delivered via email upon online purchase through login.museumspass.ch, supporting payment methods including credit card, TWINT, and GooglePay processed via Saferpay and SumUp. Entry validation at partner institutions is handled through the eSMP mobile application and the co-branded Raiffeisen Scanner App, which replaced manual paper-based tracking. Customer and account data are managed through Micro Systems software. Distribution is multi-channel: direct e-commerce, post offices, partner museums, tourist offices, and on-site sales at the Zurich headquarters.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through annual subscription pass sales targeting two primary personas (individual consumers and families with children), with a secondary B2B relationship to the 500+ partner museums, which receive visitor traffic and digital entry-management tooling in return. Partnerships include co-marketing arrangements with Raiffeisen Bank and Swiss Travel System AG, while marketing extends across owned channels (newsletter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube) and earned media. In 2026 the foundation also launched the inaugural Swiss Museum Award, an industry recognition program.

Name

Stiftung Schweizer Museumspass

Legal name

Stiftung Schweizer Museumspass

Website

https://museumspass.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Stiftung Schweizer Museumspass is a Swiss non-profit foundation founded in 1996 that sells annual subscription museum passes granting individuals and families free access to over 500 museums and castles across Switzerland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Membership Program

NAICS

Museums (712110)

akta.pro primary industry

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA)

Keywords

• Museum membership passes
• Cultural access program
• Annual museum subscriptions
• Heritage tourism passes
• Cultural foundation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Museum Pass Sales: The foundation generates revenue through annual subscription sales of the Swiss Museum Pass, offering individual, family, and group tier options. Customers pay a one-time annual fee for unlimited access to over 500 partner museums and castles across Switzerland.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Stiftung Schweizer Museumspass sells annual subscription passes that grant holders free entry to a network of over 500 museums and castles across Switzerland for one year from purchase. The foundation offers three tiers (Classic for one person, For Young and Old for one person plus three children, and Family Pass for two persons plus three children) and distributes them through its own online platform, post offices, partner museums, tourist offices, and its Zurich headquarters. The pass is delivered digitally as a QR code via email upon purchase.

Product overview

The Stiftung Schweizer Museumspass operates a unified museum membership program consisting of three annual pass tiers (The Classic, For Young and Old, and Family Pass) that grant holders free access to over 500 partner museums and castles across Switzerland. The passes are distributed through a digital platform with user accounts and QR code delivery, supported by museum-facing digital tools (eSMP application and Raiffeisen Scanner App) for entry validation at partner institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Swiss Museum Pass - The Classic (Der Klassiker) Annual museum pass granting one person free access to over 500 museums and castles throughout Switzerland for one year. Priced at CHF 147 (regular price CHF 177) with the CHF 30 anniversary discount, valid from purchase date for 12 months.
• Swiss Museum Pass - For Young and Old (Für Klein und Gross) Annual museum pass for one person plus up to three children, granting free access to over 500 museums and castles throughout Switzerland. Priced at CHF 182 (regular price CHF 212) with the CHF 30 anniversary discount.
• Swiss Museum Pass - Family Pass (Familienpass) Annual family museum pass for two persons plus up to three children, granting free access to over 500 museums and castles throughout Switzerland. Priced at CHF 283 (regular price CHF 313) with the CHF 30 anniversary discount.
• eSMP Application

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Federal Office of Culture (Bundesamt für Kultur)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1996Founding institutional partner of the Swiss Museum Pass Foundation. The Federal Office of Culture collaborates on promoting cultural diversity and access across Swiss museums.
• Switzerland TourismcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1996Founding institutional partner of the Swiss Museum Pass Foundation. Switzerland Tourism promotes Swiss tourism including cultural attractions covered by the museum pass.
• Association of Swiss Museums (Verband der Schweizer Museen)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1996Founding institutional partner representing Swiss museums. The association supports the museum network and ensures quality standards across 500+ partner institutions.
• Raiffeisen BankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-marketing partnership offering Raiffeisen-branded museum passes with free museum entry. Raiffeisen block materials and promotional flyers distributed through their banking network.
• Swiss Travel System AGminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership supporting combined travel and cultural access solutions for Swiss visitors.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Paris Museum Pass: Multi-day city museum pass granting entry to 50+ Paris museums and monuments, sold in 2-/4-/6-day tiers. Comparable as a high-profile urban museum-aggregation pass product aimed at cultural tourists and residents.
• Cultuurpas (Belgium / Flanders): Flemish cultural pass providing discounts and access to museums, theatre, and cultural events for children and youth. Comparable as a regional cultural-access subscription product backed by government and cultural-association support.
• KulturPass (Austria — Kulturpass Österreich): Austrian cultural pass initiative providing young adults free access to cultural events and venues. Comparable as a government-backed cultural-access subscription product in a neighboring German-speaking market.
• Museumkaart (Dutch Museum Pass): The Netherlands' national museum pass operated by the Museumvereniging, granting free or discounted entry to 400+ museums for an annual fee. Closely mirrors the Swiss Museum Pass's national-subscription model, multi-tier pricing, and association-driven governance.
• Museum Pass Berlin: Berlin's three-day museum pass covering 30+ participating institutions. Comparable as a regional museum-aggregation pass with city-tier tourist focus, though narrower scope and shorter duration than the Swiss annual model.

Broad incumbents

• London Pass: Multi-attraction city pass covering museums, monuments, and tours across London for a fixed-duration fee. Comparable as a tourist-facing cultural-attraction aggregator, but extends beyond museums into broader attractions.
• Go City: Multi-city flexible-attraction pass company offering all-inclusive and 'choose your own' passes across dozens of destinations, including museum-heavy bundles. Comparable aggregator model at much larger global scale.
• CityPASS: Curated bundled-attraction pass for major North American cities, often including flagship museums. Comparable as a fixed-bundle cultural/attraction aggregator, though primarily US-focused and tourist-skewed.
• Touring Club Italiano: Italian cultural and tourism association offering travel services, cultural guides, and member benefits including museum access discounts. Comparable as a long-standing nonprofit cultural/tourism membership organization operating in adjacent European geography.

Regional players

• Museum of the City of New York – Membership Programs: Individual museum membership programs in major cities (NYC) compete indirectly for cultural-tourism wallet share. Comparable as an alternative subscription mechanism to the Swiss Museum Pass, but single-institution rather than network-based.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@schweizermuseumspass2709
• Facebookfacebook.com/SchweizerMuseumspass
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stiftung-schweizer-museumspass
• Instagraminstagram.com/museumspass
• TikToktiktok.com/@schweizer_museumspass

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stiftung Schweizer Museumspass