People in England are visiting museums and galleries more frequently than a decade ago despite a small dip in total numbers in the past 12 months, new Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) figures reveal.
In the year April 2014 to March 2015, 52% of adults had visited a museum or gallery, a fall of 1.1 percentage points on the previous year, but a big increase from a decade ago, when the total was only 42.3%. Findings from Taking Part, a survey of households run by DCMS, showed “significant” increases in frequency of visits.
The research found that a total of 31% of adults have attended a museum or gallery on one or two occasions in the past year, compared with 26% a decade ago; and the proportion of those visiting three to four times a year had risen from 13% in 2005-6 to 18% in the last year.
Taking Part’s findings indicate that efforts to attract the lower socio-economic groups may have reached a plateau. In 2014-15 the proportion reached 38.9%, only 0.1 percentage points ahead of the previous year and a fall from the 2012-13 total of 39.5%.
This section of the visitor population has expanded considerably, as it made up only 28.3% of the total a decade earlier.
Some conflicting evidence emerged around the use of museum websites. This revealed a significant increase from 2011-12 in the proportion of adults who visited a museum or gallery website to find out about or order tickets for an exhibition or event (from 58.1% to 63.5%).
There was also a significant decrease over the same period in the proportion of adults who had taken a virtual tour (from 16.4% to 12.4%), a fall in the proportion of adults who had visited a museum or gallery website to view or download an event or exhibition (from 13.5% to 10.2%), and a decline in those who had visited a museum or gallery website to find out about a particular subject (from 47.5% to 42.5%).
In total, 27.9% of adults had visited a museum website in the last year, compared to 26.2% in 2011-12. The current total represents a sharp fall on the 2012-13 peak of 31.3%.
Links and downloads
DCMS Taking Part survey 2014-15
In the year April 2014 to March 2015, 52% of adults had visited a museum or gallery, a fall of 1.1 percentage points on the previous year, but a big increase from a decade ago, when the total was only 42.3%. Findings from Taking Part, a survey of households run by DCMS, showed “significant” increases in frequency of visits.
The research found that a total of 31% of adults have attended a museum or gallery on one or two occasions in the past year, compared with 26% a decade ago; and the proportion of those visiting three to four times a year had risen from 13% in 2005-6 to 18% in the last year.
Taking Part’s findings indicate that efforts to attract the lower socio-economic groups may have reached a plateau. In 2014-15 the proportion reached 38.9%, only 0.1 percentage points ahead of the previous year and a fall from the 2012-13 total of 39.5%.
This section of the visitor population has expanded considerably, as it made up only 28.3% of the total a decade earlier.
Some conflicting evidence emerged around the use of museum websites. This revealed a significant increase from 2011-12 in the proportion of adults who visited a museum or gallery website to find out about or order tickets for an exhibition or event (from 58.1% to 63.5%).
There was also a significant decrease over the same period in the proportion of adults who had taken a virtual tour (from 16.4% to 12.4%), a fall in the proportion of adults who had visited a museum or gallery website to view or download an event or exhibition (from 13.5% to 10.2%), and a decline in those who had visited a museum or gallery website to find out about a particular subject (from 47.5% to 42.5%).
In total, 27.9% of adults had visited a museum website in the last year, compared to 26.2% in 2011-12. The current total represents a sharp fall on the 2012-13 peak of 31.3%.
Links and downloads
DCMS Taking Part survey 2014-15
