Museums as a Tourist Resource in the Conditions of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges and New Opportunities

It is becoming increasingly clear that museum activities and tourism are among the sectors of culture and economy most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the fact that museum visits and tourist travel during the pandemic have been reduced to a minimum, museums around the world are looking for a way out of the predicament, using every opportunity to recover and offer innovative museum and tourism products. For many museum institutions, the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications for the cultural sphere as a whole are a challenge that needs to be used to rethink their activities, to introduce new methods of communication with potential museum visitors and cultural heritage enthusiasts. The article presents an analysis of the main challenges of the pandemic and its consequences in the field of culture, museum activities in 2020 and the first half of 2021, considers the expected and possible changes in museum life as a result of the pandemic. The study results of the financial condition of museums as a result of quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic are presented, the innovative practices of online content that museums offer to their visitors during quarantine are considered.