Investment pays dividends for museum visitor figures - Museums Association

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Investment pays dividends for museum visitor figures

Alva visitor data shows that museums and galleries who invest in high-quality creative programming often attract more visitors to their sites
Capital investment and high-quality creative programming at some of the UK’s museums, galleries and visitor attractions proved a strong draw for visitors last year.

Data from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva) reveals big increases in visitor numbers at Liverpool’s Merseyside Maritime Museum and the city’s Walker Art Gallery, and the reopened Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth.

The total number of visits to Alva member venues was up by 7% in 2016, with Wales and Northern Ireland reporting strong growth. Several Scottish venues also performed well.

Cornwall reported a record year. Visits to Tintagel Castle rose 19% following a “groundbreaking” archaeological research project and new interpretation.

Bernard Donoghue, the director of Alva, says there has been “good growth, but it is regionally patchy”, referring to a flat performance in London, which has widely been attributed to concerns over security, and visitor figures adjusting to normal following some blockbuster exhibitions in 2015.

Scottish strength

Scotland once again outperformed the rest of the UK, posting a 15.6% rise. The best-performing attractions included Edinburgh’s Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One), with a 29% rise, and the National Museum of Scotland, which posted a 16% increase following the launch of 10 galleries, and a 13% rise at Edinburgh Castle, the most-visited paid-for attraction in Scotland.

Donoghue adds that Scotland is “reaping the benefits” of significant capital investment in its attractions and creative programming, while also receiving a boost in visitors thanks to new routes at Edinburgh airport.

He adds that the country’s vote to remain in the EU has boosted Scotland’s international reputation as a welcoming and outward-looking country.

Simon Groom, the director of modern and contemporary art at National Galleries of Scotland, says the increase at Modern One followed steady growth over the past few years. “It’s due to the gallery’s strong programme and great grounds – and in particular its growing international reputation for showing contemporary art.”

Groom adds that Scotland’s museum and galleries “offer enormous value for money”, saying: “Most programmes are free, and where there is a charge for a paying exhibition, the cost is substantially less than you would pay for an equivalent show in London or internationally.”

Meanwhile, Laura Cheyne, the head of marketing at the Scottish National Trust, says the North Coast 500, a coastal route that opened in 2015 and forms a loop around the northern tip of Scotland, has opened up the area to visitors. As a consequence, attractions such as Culloden Castle, near Inverness, enjoyed a 20.5% increase in visits during 2016.

In Liverpool, visits to the Merseyside Maritime Museum rose 27%, as it marked its 30th anniversary, while visitor numbers at the city’s Walker Art Gallery rose by 20%. David Fleming, the director of National Museums Liverpool, says: “This is as a result of programming that targets local people, and is also of high quality.

“Entry to our museums is free, so people on low incomes are not put off visiting by meaty admission charges. Nonetheless, free admission has to be accompanied by high-quality programming and content, or people will choose to spend their time doing something else.”

Shipshape

The Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth had a 39% rise in visitors, despite only reopening on 19 July following a £39m revamp. Glazing has replaced walls that previously separated visitors from the ship, which has opened up “unrestricted views”, while life-sized projections of crew members help to bring the ship to life.

Helen Bonser-Wilton, chief executive of the Mary Rose Trust, says: “The completion of the museum has been a long-term journey for many of our staff, some of whom were divers on the wreck. It’s been exciting and emotional.


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