Museums and galleries in central London that attract large family and school audiences have seen a big fall in visitor numbers since the terrorist attacks on 7 and 21 July.
The British Museum (BM) has been getting about 90,000 visitors a week since the attacks, which is 20-30 per cent down on the same period last year. August 2004 was a particularly good month because Mummy: the Inside Story exhibition opened.
The Natural History Museum (NHM) visitor figures from 8-31 July show a 24 per cent fall compared with the same period last year, although the museum was closed on 8 July.
The Museum of London was down 28.7 per cent in July and 41.1 per cent in the first two weeks of August, although a spokeswoman said it is difficult to identify a pattern.
Historic Royal Palaces has suffered 20 per cent falls at Kensington Palace, the Tower of London and even Hampton Court Palace, despite it being outside central London.
'We suspect that the drop off is coming from the domestic market as we know that tour operators are not cancelling booked tours or offering refunds for international travellers,' said Historic Royal Palaces spokeswoman Sarah Watson.
The Science Museum saw visitor numbers fall 20 per cent in July and a third in August. 'We are certainly seeing a short-term downturn, but we can't yet tell whether people are just deferring their visit and will come back later in the summer holidays,' said Jon Tucker, the head of the Science Museum.
All the museums with fewer visitors will be concerned about the effects on income from special exhibitions, catering and retail. The NHM says its catering revenue has not suffered so far, and the BM said the fall in visitors will have a knock-on effect on revenues, but it is too early to speculate on how serious this might be.
Museums and galleries in London, which attract more adults, have fared better. The National Gallery saw a similar amount of visitors at the end of July compared with last year. Tate Britain has not been significantly affected, while in July Tate Modern was down just 3 per cent on June.
A statement by tourism promotion body VisitLondon said: 'Many families claim they will go to London at some point in the future, but are still clearly hesitant about visiting at the moment.'
Simon Stephens
The British Museum (BM) has been getting about 90,000 visitors a week since the attacks, which is 20-30 per cent down on the same period last year. August 2004 was a particularly good month because Mummy: the Inside Story exhibition opened.
The Natural History Museum (NHM) visitor figures from 8-31 July show a 24 per cent fall compared with the same period last year, although the museum was closed on 8 July.
The Museum of London was down 28.7 per cent in July and 41.1 per cent in the first two weeks of August, although a spokeswoman said it is difficult to identify a pattern.
Historic Royal Palaces has suffered 20 per cent falls at Kensington Palace, the Tower of London and even Hampton Court Palace, despite it being outside central London.
'We suspect that the drop off is coming from the domestic market as we know that tour operators are not cancelling booked tours or offering refunds for international travellers,' said Historic Royal Palaces spokeswoman Sarah Watson.
The Science Museum saw visitor numbers fall 20 per cent in July and a third in August. 'We are certainly seeing a short-term downturn, but we can't yet tell whether people are just deferring their visit and will come back later in the summer holidays,' said Jon Tucker, the head of the Science Museum.
All the museums with fewer visitors will be concerned about the effects on income from special exhibitions, catering and retail. The NHM says its catering revenue has not suffered so far, and the BM said the fall in visitors will have a knock-on effect on revenues, but it is too early to speculate on how serious this might be.
Museums and galleries in London, which attract more adults, have fared better. The National Gallery saw a similar amount of visitors at the end of July compared with last year. Tate Britain has not been significantly affected, while in July Tate Modern was down just 3 per cent on June.
A statement by tourism promotion body VisitLondon said: 'Many families claim they will go to London at some point in the future, but are still clearly hesitant about visiting at the moment.'
Simon Stephens
