The latest attendance figures from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva) show that many of London’s museums and galleries experienced a fall in 2017 compared with the year before. But their experience was far from representative of the picture across the UK, where many others performed strongly.
Although London’s attractions enjoyed a 1.2% rise in visitor numbers in 2017, the only top-10-ranked museums and galleries that posted an increase in attendances were Royal Museums Greenwich (up 6%), the Science Museum (0.2%) and the Victoria and Albert Museum (26%).
By comparison, footfall to attractions in Scotland and Northern Ireland rose by 13.9% and 6.5% respectively.
Overall, attractions across the UK enjoyed a 7.3% rise in visitor numbers, fuelled by investment in major building projects, popular temporary exhibitions and innovative new content.
National Museums Scotland posted a 20% rise in attendances to 2.16 million, while visitor numbers at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art’s Modern One and Modern Two were up by 13% and 30% respectively.
Bernard Donoghue, the director of Alva, says Scottish venues continued to thrive thanks to long-term capital investment in museums, galleries and visitor attractions by local and central government, as well as by bodies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund.
“One of the most startling things to come out of the 2017 figures was the huge increase in visitors to Scottish attractions,” Donoghue says. “They are outperforming the rest of the UK.”
Donoghue attributes some of the increase to new flight routes to Edinburgh and Glasgow airports.
Northern Ireland on up
In Northern Ireland, visitor numbers rose 13%. This included a 13.4% increase in footfall at Giant’s Causeway, which is operated by the National Trust and a 20% rise at another trust property, Mount Stewart.
In England, Stratford-Upon-Avon’s Shakespeare’s New Place, the playwright’s family home, saw visitor numbers rise 191% from 48,896 in 2016 to 142,325 last year – the second-biggest percentage increase in Alva’s survey (Tate St Ives, which had been closed for redevelopment, had the largest percentage increase at 331%). Shakespeare’s New Place reopened in summer 2016 following a £6m capital investment.
Philippa Rawlinson, the director of operations and marketing at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, says its five venues had a record-breaking year, with attendances up 5% on 2016. “Shakespeare’s New Place certainly contributed to the growth in numbers, reaching our 2019 target within 12 months of opening,” Rawlinson says.
Bradford’s National Museum of Science and Media, part of the Science Museum Group, reported its highest annual figure since 2009-10, with a 19% increase in visitors to 493,000.
The museum’s director, Jo Quinton-Tulloch, says several factors played a part in the rise, including its change of name from the National Media Museum in March 2017, the new £1.8m interactive Wonderlab gallery, and hosting astronaut Tim Peake’s Soyuz spacecraft.
“Over the past year, we have re-engaged across the board – with regulars, people who hadn’t been for a long time and new visitors,” Quinton-Tulloch says.
Locomotion, in Shildon, also part of the Science Museum Group, saw numbers fall by 22%. But this was after the 2016 visit from the Flying Scotsman, which was extremely popular.
Ellen McAdam, the director of Birmingham Museums Trust, says that the city’s flagship museum had to contend with disruption caused by the redevelopment of the city centre, with numbers falling 23%. Birmingham Museums Trust is hoping that this month’s arrival of Dippy, the Natural History Museum’s diplodocus cast, will help boost figures
Although London’s attractions enjoyed a 1.2% rise in visitor numbers in 2017, the only top-10-ranked museums and galleries that posted an increase in attendances were Royal Museums Greenwich (up 6%), the Science Museum (0.2%) and the Victoria and Albert Museum (26%).
By comparison, footfall to attractions in Scotland and Northern Ireland rose by 13.9% and 6.5% respectively.
Overall, attractions across the UK enjoyed a 7.3% rise in visitor numbers, fuelled by investment in major building projects, popular temporary exhibitions and innovative new content.
National Museums Scotland posted a 20% rise in attendances to 2.16 million, while visitor numbers at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art’s Modern One and Modern Two were up by 13% and 30% respectively.
Bernard Donoghue, the director of Alva, says Scottish venues continued to thrive thanks to long-term capital investment in museums, galleries and visitor attractions by local and central government, as well as by bodies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund.
“One of the most startling things to come out of the 2017 figures was the huge increase in visitors to Scottish attractions,” Donoghue says. “They are outperforming the rest of the UK.”
Donoghue attributes some of the increase to new flight routes to Edinburgh and Glasgow airports.
Northern Ireland on up
In Northern Ireland, visitor numbers rose 13%. This included a 13.4% increase in footfall at Giant’s Causeway, which is operated by the National Trust and a 20% rise at another trust property, Mount Stewart.
In England, Stratford-Upon-Avon’s Shakespeare’s New Place, the playwright’s family home, saw visitor numbers rise 191% from 48,896 in 2016 to 142,325 last year – the second-biggest percentage increase in Alva’s survey (Tate St Ives, which had been closed for redevelopment, had the largest percentage increase at 331%). Shakespeare’s New Place reopened in summer 2016 following a £6m capital investment.
Philippa Rawlinson, the director of operations and marketing at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, says its five venues had a record-breaking year, with attendances up 5% on 2016. “Shakespeare’s New Place certainly contributed to the growth in numbers, reaching our 2019 target within 12 months of opening,” Rawlinson says.
Bradford’s National Museum of Science and Media, part of the Science Museum Group, reported its highest annual figure since 2009-10, with a 19% increase in visitors to 493,000.
The museum’s director, Jo Quinton-Tulloch, says several factors played a part in the rise, including its change of name from the National Media Museum in March 2017, the new £1.8m interactive Wonderlab gallery, and hosting astronaut Tim Peake’s Soyuz spacecraft.
“Over the past year, we have re-engaged across the board – with regulars, people who hadn’t been for a long time and new visitors,” Quinton-Tulloch says.
Locomotion, in Shildon, also part of the Science Museum Group, saw numbers fall by 22%. But this was after the 2016 visit from the Flying Scotsman, which was extremely popular.
Ellen McAdam, the director of Birmingham Museums Trust, says that the city’s flagship museum had to contend with disruption caused by the redevelopment of the city centre, with numbers falling 23%. Birmingham Museums Trust is hoping that this month’s arrival of Dippy, the Natural History Museum’s diplodocus cast, will help boost figures