The Swiss Museum Pass Foundation was established in 1996 together with the Federal Office of Culture, Switzerland Tourism and the Association of Swiss Museums, based in Zurich. The purpose of the foundation is to promote cultural diversity, education and knowledge in society and to communicate and disseminate these through the operation of a Swiss Museum Pass.
The operation of the museum pass is intended to make museum visits more attractive and increase visitor frequency.
Co-founder, father and long-standing managing director of the Swiss Museum Pass idea was Theo Wyler, who died in 2011.