National museums in England report 10% decrease in young visitors

There are calls for more investment in transport and infrastructure after a 10% drop in visits by under-16s to England’s national museums and galleries.

The latest figures from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), released in April, show that overall visits to the department’s 15 directly sponsored institutions fell 1.3% in 2024-25.

Footfall remains 16% lower than it was in 2018-19, the last full pre-pandemic financial year, when comparing museums open in both time periods.

In total, there were 42 million visits to national institutions in 2024-25 compared to 49.8 million visits in 2018-19.

The figures show there was a sharp fall in younger visitors last year, with around 7.7 million visits by children under 16 in 2024-25, down 10% on 2023-24. Visits by under-16s were 9% lower than they were in 2018-19.

However the proportion of visits by children compared to overall footfall has remained roughly consistent over the years, with under-16s accounting for around 18% of visits in 2024-25, compared to 20% in 2023-24 and 17% pre-pandemic.

The figures also show there’s been a significant drop in learning and outreach activities among under-18s since before the pandemic.

In 2024/25 there were approximately 1.7 million visits in which visitors under 18 participated in onsite organised activities.

This is an increase of 2% compared to the 2023-24 figure, but a 37% decrease compared to the figures recorded in 2018-19.

National museums outside London are also attracting a smaller proportion overall visits than they did before the pandemic, accounting for 13% of all visits in 2024-25 compared to 17% in 2018-19.

The figures show that museums and galleries located in London received 36.6 million visits while those outside of London saw 5.2 million visits in 2024-25. 

In more positive news, footfall from overseas visitors grew in 2024-25, although it has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

There were around 19.4 million visits by overseas visitors in 2024-25, up 2% on 2023/24 but down 17% on 2018-19. Overseas visitors accounted for 46% of all visits in 2024-25, up from 45% the previous year.

Meanwhile domestic visits fell 4% last year, and remained 15% down on 2018-19.

Sharon Heal, the director of the Museums Association, said more investment is needed to remove barriers to access and support more family visits.

“It is disappointing that the number of children under 16 visiting government-sponsored museums and galleries decreased by 10% in 2024/25,” she said.

“While the data does not provide reasons for this decrease, it does suggest that some families and schools may still face barriers to accessing museums such as the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, and cost and availability of transport. 

“However, many museums are working to create welcoming and accessible spaces for children by offering engaging school programmes, hands-on family programmes and specific sessions for visitors with young children. 

“We know that children in London are more likely to visit museums and we want children in all areas across the UK to have the opportunity to access a high-quality museum service near to where they live.

“To do this, we need continued public investment in museums and in the infrastructure, such as affordable public transport, that supports families to get to museums.”