Should nationals charge entry for overseas tourists?

The idea of charging overseas visitors for entering national museums in England resurfaces as a way of boosting revenues at a time of reduced public funding.

Mark Jones, the former director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, proposed the idea in a newspaper article in June last year when he was the outgoing interim director of the British Museum.

Proponents argue that it would make institutions more self-sufficient and sustainable at a time when securing private funding is often problematic, particularly when museums have to make difficult ethical choices about the sources of sponsorship.

With public money in short supply, museums have been working for some time to find new ways of raising revenue, and charging overseas visitors would preserve the principle that UK taxpayers gain free entry.

But a report from the Cultural Policy Unit published in March suggests that introducing such a charge would be far from straightforward. Some objections are practical, while others are reputational. Going down this route also has the potential for creating lots of unintended consequences.

In practical terms, the report asks how museums would identify UK nationals in a country that has no national identity card system. There are also questions over the price of implementing charging, with museums having to remodel their entrances and manage the resulting queues, which all increases staff costs.

Reputationally, there are concerns that tourist numbers might be impacted, with free museums currently an important motivator for international visitors. A big fall in overseas visitors would also have an impact on sectors such as retail, hospitality and leisure.

The Cultural Policy Unit report also points out that national museums hold collections for the world, not just the UK: “The national museums and galleries are treasure houses of history, art, science and things of beauty, places for civic debate and revitalising the spirits.

In a world of disinformation, growing inequality and division, everyone – from wherever they come –should have access to them. Opening them up to the world is part of our ‘soft power’, and there would be reputational damage to the UK if we reversed this.”

‘Integral to a civil society’

England’s 15 national museums and galleries, which are sponsored directly by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport, currently offer free entry to their permanent collections.

The report states: “Like public libraries and parks, these museums are owned by the public and are regarded as an integral part of building a healthy civil society. The principle that access to knowledge, and to the greatest things created by humankind, should be equally available to all has been largely upheld by all British public collections since parliament created the British Museum, the first national museum in the world, in 1753.

“The policy [of free entry] has allowed museums to remain open, welcoming and inclusive, enabling diverse audiences, including people from lower-income backgrounds, to access cultural resources at their convenience and leisure.

“Moreover, the reintroduction of free entry in 2001 saw audience numbers jump, both at national museums that had dropped a temporary period of charging, and at those that had steadfastly maintained free admission.”

Many of the national museums generate significant revenue from charging for temporary exhibitions. Other income comes from a variety of sources, including membership schemes, and retail and catering spend. Charging for entry might have a big impact on these existing revenue streams.

The introduction of entry charges could lead to a fall in the number of visits to smaller museums, as tourists choose to spend their money on one or two of the larger national museums.

Also, if charging leads to a fall in visitor numbers to national museums, this might have an impact on the private funders attracted by the large numbers of visitors who are made aware of their sponsorship or experience the facilities they finance.

In the longer term, if venues did start earning significant income from charging overseas visitors, future governments might be tempted to further reduce grant in aid to museums.

The report also points out that although most of Europe’s popular museums levy entry charges for tourists, it is not a straightforward comparison. At the Louvre in Paris, for example, most French citizens also pay. In the Netherlands, meanwhile, Dutch citizens can buy a museum card that offers free access.

“The principle that access to knowledge, and to the greatest things created by humankind, should be equally available to all has been largely upheld by all British public collections since parliament created the British Museum”

Also, many other countries operate entry policies similar to the UK. Admission to the national Smithsonian museums in the US is free, while China has recently adopted the British model of free museums.

So, if charging overseas visitors to enter national museums is not a good option, are there alternative revenue-generating ideas?

Accommodation levy

One option proposed by the Cultural Policy Unit is a levy on tourist accommodation in England – an idea that some cities are exploring (see Museums Journal March/April 2025).

A separate report from the policy unit, A City Tourism Charge: The Case for a Progressive Levy on Overnight Visitor Accommodation, states: “The objective is to generate over £1bn annually to support cultural infrastructure and placemaking, including major attractions, creative districts and grassroots venues.

By ensuring that higher-end accommodations contribute more than others, the proposal offers a progressive and equitable solution during these challenging financial times.”

Despite Labour peer Fiona Twycross saying in a House of Lords debate in March that the government “currently [has] no plans to charge for entry to national museums”, it’s an idea that won’t go away.