Upward trend in museum visitor figures across UK

Visitor numbers are on the rise but continue to lag behind pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest data from national museums in all four UK nations.

Figures show that visits to institutions sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) have increased by 27% since 2022. However, this is still 19% less than footfall for the same period in 2019. 

According to the data for January-September 2023, some institutions, like the Natural History Museum group, are now surpassing their pre-pandemic visitor numbers. The group, which comprises museums in South Kensington and Tring, has experienced a growth of more than 200,000 visitors since 2019. 

The National Portrait Gallery also picked up speed this summer after reopening following a three-year capital project, welcoming more than 600,000 visitors, up 30% from 2019. 

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) group is gradually climbing towards its pre-pandemic figures, welcoming 10% less visitors in July-September 2023 than it did in 2019. The institution was boosted by the reopening of its children's museum, Young V&A, in July 2023, which should set it on course to regain most of its footfall by next year.

A spokesman for the DCMS said: “It is encouraging to see that the numbers of visitors to our museum and galleries continue to increase following the pandemic. We encourage people across the country and visiting the UK to take advantage of the incredible experiences our museums and galleries have to offer.” 

The Tate group encountered vastly different growth rates across its four museums. Tate Britain has seen a 44% drop in visitors in the aftermath of the pandemic, while Tate Modern received 3.6 million visitors from January to September 2023, 20% lower than its 2019 figures. 

The post-pandemic lull in museum visitors has also hit the National Gallery, with the venue experiencing a 51% dip in attendees since 2019, although this is partly down to the closure of its Sainsbury wing, which has reduced gallery capacity by 30%. 

Neil Evans, press officer for the gallery, pointed to the drop in international visits as the biggest challenge for the team going forward. He added that the effect of the cost-of-living crisis was another contributing factor to the fall in numbers. 

Devolved nations

Further data shows a spike in visitor numbers for national museums in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The figures suggest that the devolved nations could reach pre-pandemic levels of attendance in the coming year.  

National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI) enjoyed a steady influx of visitors, welcoming 534,000 people so far to its four venues in the financial year 2023/2024. This is less than 1% down on the same period in 2019, before Covid-19 restrictions were introduced. 

According to data from NMNI, Ulster Museum received 17% less visitors than it did the same time period during 2019.

However, these figures rose in the second half of 2023, with the museum’s September visitors surpassing the number it obtained for the same month pre-pandemic. This projects greater growth for the museum in 2024, setting it on course to close the gap following its post-Covid 19 lull. 

National Museums Scotland's four museums are fast-approaching pre-pandemic figures, with the number of visitors in the calendar year of 2023 falling only 7% behind 2019. Before the year is out, this difference is expected to drop even further as visitors crowd in for the holiday season. 

The National Museum of Flight enjoyed the highest rate of success this year. In November it reached a total number of visitors only 5% behind 2019 levels, and as figures roll in for December this percentage is likely get even smaller. 

Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales has seen a slow and steady growth since the dip in museum-goers during the pandemic.

The institution's seven sites welcomed 1.2 million visitors from January to November of this year, with time still remaining to surpass the 1.3 million visitors they received in 2022. 

The National Slate Museum was among the most successful, receiving 116,000 visitors this year, which could see it outperform its 2022 figure of 130,000 before the year is out.

Local visitors boost success

Away from the national instititions, museums like The Box in Plymouth have experienced a significant increase in visitor numbers, outperforming all projections. Last year, there were 250,000 visits to the free-of-charge institution, which opened in 2020. 

Kate Farmery, head of business at The Box, said: “According to our estimations, nearly half the city’s population has visited The Box. We are on track to match last year’s attendance, and if not exceed it.”

Farmery believes that the museum's commitment to collaborating with the local community has been a major factor to its success.

She said: “We have done everything we can to create an environment in which people feel at home and feel comfortable. We are a social space that encourages people to be curious about the world around them.”

This sentiment is shared by Chris Earlie, head of Tower Bridge, which saw 114,000 visitors this summer, a 33% increase year-on-year.

Earlie said: “The pandemic taught us a lesson about how we can have local audience engagement. The bridge has a role in connecting London communities and we want to commit to that by offering £1 tickets for locals who live nearby. We’ve seen that local growth year on year as a result.”

The boost in visitors to museums and galleries across the UK will be welcome news in the wake of the pandemic, which severely affected footfall. The data suggests a trend of growth that is likely to continue into 2024.