Creative programming, investment and targeted marketing were key to the strong visitor numbers posted by Scottish museums, galleries and heritage sites last year.
Scottish venues outperformed the rest of the UK’s in 2015, according to figures released in March by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva), with attendances rising by 5.5% compared with the UK average of 3.2%.
Bernard Donoghue, the director of Alva, says Scottish attractions benefited from ongoing investment in capital projects. This is continuing, with 10 galleries, costing £14.1m, opening at the National Museum of Scotland this summer, and the £3.6m redevelopment of the Museum of Flight, which was completed in March.
Hitting the target
Donoghue adds that targeted marketing, such as Edinburgh Castle’s focus on the group travel market, has paid off, while partnerships that have been fostered by venues to support more creative programming have also been successful.
Donoghue highlights Modern Two, at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, whose exhibition marketing for The Amazing World of MC Escher was aimed at visitors interested in science and maths. Edinburgh Castle was Scotland’s most popular attraction last year, with visitor numbers rising by 5.9% to 1.6 million. Its total surpassed that of the National Museum of Scotland for the first time since 2010.
Nick Finnigan, the executive manager of Edinburgh Castle, says visitor numbers have been boosted by the rise in weekend tourists to the Scottish capital, fuelled by new routes at Edinburgh airport and investment in the castle’s customer experience.
Temporary exhibitions played a significant role in increasing attendances in Scotland and across the UK.
The Escher show helped National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) break the two million visitor mark for the first time, and Modern One, at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, posted a 47% rise thanks to its Artist Rooms: Roy Lichtenstein exhibition.
Exhibitions on new-wave band Blondie and Tintin creator Hergé were a significant draw at London’s Somerset House, where visitor numbers rose by 31% to 3.2 million. The UK’s first major Ai Weiwei exhibition, which ran from September to December, fuelled a 33% rise in attendances at the Royal Academy of Arts, in London.
Liverpool’s World Museum increased its figures by 8% largely due to Maya: Revelation of an Endless Time. It was the only place where visitors could see the exhibition in the UK.
Tate Liverpool posted a 12% increase to 626,000 visitors. Andrea Nixon, the executive director of the gallery, says the exhibitions Transmitting Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots were key to attracting visitors. She also cites a refresh of its collection display, events programme and cafe, which received a makeover from British pop artist Peter Blake.
The spike in visitors created by temporary exhibitions, however, can also lead to dips in attendance. Tate Modern, for example, suffered a 19% fall in 2015 to 4.7 million visitors, following a record-breaking year in 2014 thanks to the success of its Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs exhibition.
Special programmes in 2014 also caused significant falls in visitor numbers, by 29% at the Imperial War Museum North, and by 47% at Locomotion – The National Railway Museum at Shildon, part of the Science Museum Group. At IWM North, the drop-off in visitors was “anticipated”, following record numbers in 2014 as a result of centenary commemorations for the start of the first world war.
Locomotion also expected attendances to fall in 2015 after a temporary exhibition of six Mallard steam engines in 2014 attracted 120,000 people in just nine days. The museum usually attracts about 213,000 visitors annually, but the total dipped to 156,277 in 2015.
London’s venues posted a mixed performance. The British Museum remained the most visited tourist attraction in the UK, with a 2% rise to 6.8 million. Attendances were down by 8%, however, at the National Gallery after strike action led to room closures.
Visitor numbers at Tate Britain fell by 3% to 1.3 million. Donoghue says visitor figures for the first three months of 2016 are slightly ahead of last year, and events around the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death and the reopening of Portsmouth’s Mary Rose Museum in the summer will be big draws.
The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Modern One welcomed 47% more visitors last year than in 2014
SNG of Modern Art Modern Two, Edinburgh 236,294 visitors (+35%)
Royal Academy of Arts, London 1,096,608 visitors (+33%)
Somerset House, London 3,235,104 visitors (+31%)
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery 936,839 visitors (+30%)
Scottish venues outperformed the rest of the UK’s in 2015, according to figures released in March by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva), with attendances rising by 5.5% compared with the UK average of 3.2%.
Bernard Donoghue, the director of Alva, says Scottish attractions benefited from ongoing investment in capital projects. This is continuing, with 10 galleries, costing £14.1m, opening at the National Museum of Scotland this summer, and the £3.6m redevelopment of the Museum of Flight, which was completed in March.
Hitting the target
Donoghue adds that targeted marketing, such as Edinburgh Castle’s focus on the group travel market, has paid off, while partnerships that have been fostered by venues to support more creative programming have also been successful.
Donoghue highlights Modern Two, at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, whose exhibition marketing for The Amazing World of MC Escher was aimed at visitors interested in science and maths. Edinburgh Castle was Scotland’s most popular attraction last year, with visitor numbers rising by 5.9% to 1.6 million. Its total surpassed that of the National Museum of Scotland for the first time since 2010.
Nick Finnigan, the executive manager of Edinburgh Castle, says visitor numbers have been boosted by the rise in weekend tourists to the Scottish capital, fuelled by new routes at Edinburgh airport and investment in the castle’s customer experience.
Temporary exhibitions played a significant role in increasing attendances in Scotland and across the UK.
The Escher show helped National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) break the two million visitor mark for the first time, and Modern One, at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, posted a 47% rise thanks to its Artist Rooms: Roy Lichtenstein exhibition.
Exhibitions on new-wave band Blondie and Tintin creator Hergé were a significant draw at London’s Somerset House, where visitor numbers rose by 31% to 3.2 million. The UK’s first major Ai Weiwei exhibition, which ran from September to December, fuelled a 33% rise in attendances at the Royal Academy of Arts, in London.
Liverpool’s World Museum increased its figures by 8% largely due to Maya: Revelation of an Endless Time. It was the only place where visitors could see the exhibition in the UK.
Tate Liverpool posted a 12% increase to 626,000 visitors. Andrea Nixon, the executive director of the gallery, says the exhibitions Transmitting Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots were key to attracting visitors. She also cites a refresh of its collection display, events programme and cafe, which received a makeover from British pop artist Peter Blake.
The spike in visitors created by temporary exhibitions, however, can also lead to dips in attendance. Tate Modern, for example, suffered a 19% fall in 2015 to 4.7 million visitors, following a record-breaking year in 2014 thanks to the success of its Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs exhibition.
Special programmes in 2014 also caused significant falls in visitor numbers, by 29% at the Imperial War Museum North, and by 47% at Locomotion – The National Railway Museum at Shildon, part of the Science Museum Group. At IWM North, the drop-off in visitors was “anticipated”, following record numbers in 2014 as a result of centenary commemorations for the start of the first world war.
Locomotion also expected attendances to fall in 2015 after a temporary exhibition of six Mallard steam engines in 2014 attracted 120,000 people in just nine days. The museum usually attracts about 213,000 visitors annually, but the total dipped to 156,277 in 2015.
London’s venues posted a mixed performance. The British Museum remained the most visited tourist attraction in the UK, with a 2% rise to 6.8 million. Attendances were down by 8%, however, at the National Gallery after strike action led to room closures.
Visitor numbers at Tate Britain fell by 3% to 1.3 million. Donoghue says visitor figures for the first three months of 2016 are slightly ahead of last year, and events around the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death and the reopening of Portsmouth’s Mary Rose Museum in the summer will be big draws.
The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Modern One welcomed 47% more visitors last year than in 2014
Alva’s 2015 visitor figures – the big winners
SNG of Modern Art Modern One, Edinburgh 221,381 visitors (+47%)SNG of Modern Art Modern Two, Edinburgh 236,294 visitors (+35%)
Royal Academy of Arts, London 1,096,608 visitors (+33%)
Somerset House, London 3,235,104 visitors (+31%)
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery 936,839 visitors (+30%)