Museum visits double over ten years

Ten years of free entry to many of the UK’s top museums has given a major boost to admission numbers. Over 50 million visits were made to the UK’s national museums last year – more than double the number before the re-introduction of universal free admission in December 2001. The Natural History Museum has seen visitor numbers triple during this period, from 1.7 million in 2000 to 4.8 million last year, but even visits to national museums which have always been free, such as the British Museum, National Gallery and Tate, have risen by 22% over the same period. Over two million more children now visit museums sponsored by the DCMS than in 2000, with 8.3 million visits by children last year. One third of all visits to the Royal Armouries in Leeds and the Science Museum in London were made by children under 16.

In Wales, the support of the Welsh Government meant that Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales introduced a free admission policy eight months before England, and visitor numbers there have almost doubled over the period: 1.7 million visits were made to the seven national museums last year, and nearly 15 million visits in total over the decade of free entry.
The UK has three of the top five most visited museums and galleries in the world, and a visit to a museum is one of the most popular activities undertaken by the UK’s 30 million international visitors. Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive of VisitBritain said: “…we estimate that Britain’s unique culture and great heritage attracts £4.5bn worth of spending by inbound visitors annually and thereby underpins more than 100,000 jobs across the length and breadth of the country.”
Government backing is essential for the national museums to be able to sustain universal free entry, and the funding settlement for national museums in the last spending review recognised the value of museum services and the importance of maintaining free admission. However, some local authority funded museum services are facing cuts. Dr Michael Dixon, Director of the Natural History Museum and Chair of the National Museum Directors’ Conference, said : “The current economic climate means an extremely difficult time for museums of all kinds… Whilst recognising that funding has been hit very hard, we hope Local Authorities can be as far-sighted as possible in decisions on cultural funding, as severe cuts in this area are counter-productive in so many ways.”