During the period 2004 to 2006 when the policy of free admission - applicable to 19 national museums in Sweden - was in place, the number of visits to these museums more than doubled, with several museums reporting an increase in attendance of between 200 and 300 per cent.
This increase reflected a rise in the number of first-time visitors and school groups, as well as a growing proportion of spontaneous visitors.
There was a general rise in the number of visits to all museums, even those charging entry fees, and the total increase was sustained at a promising level. From having an air of exclusiveness, museums began to be perceived as being in the public domain.
As part of the political directive, the Museum of World Culture (MWC) in Gothenburg was assigned the task of attracting those who would not normally visit museums to help to establish museums as an interesting optional leisure activity; ie worth turning the TV off for.
But at the end of last year, the newly elected Swedish government reinstated a significant obstacle: admission fees for national museums were brought back.
Since the restoration of fees, the national museums have reported a combined reduction of 40 per cent in the number of visits. This figure actually conceals a significant variation in the decline in visits of between 10 and 90 per cent depending on the museum.
The MWC lost one in every five visitors, which was better than expected. One encouraging feature is that the museum programmes, which offer a number of free activities have not been affected by a drop in the number of visits.
The decline has instead been in the number of visitors to exhibitions for which there is a charge. As expected, the proportion of visitors to traditional museums has increased.
Those who visit us less frequently are precisely those groups whom it has been our mission to attract and encourage, the people who perceive the museum as a novel way of socialising with friends, instead of perhaps just going shopping.
Interestingly, preliminary results also show that the more actively involved our visitors have been in the media debate concerning the restoration of admission, the less inclined they are to resign themselves to paying museum entry fees.
The relatively short period during which the policy of free admission was in place represented an invitation to a wider segment of the general public to become proactive in how we perceive the world around us, our origins and our destinations. The outcome of charging for entry to museums is as self-evident as it is disappointing.
Anna Mighetto is the director of marketing and communication at the Museum of World Culture, Gothenburg, Sweden
This increase reflected a rise in the number of first-time visitors and school groups, as well as a growing proportion of spontaneous visitors.
There was a general rise in the number of visits to all museums, even those charging entry fees, and the total increase was sustained at a promising level. From having an air of exclusiveness, museums began to be perceived as being in the public domain.
As part of the political directive, the Museum of World Culture (MWC) in Gothenburg was assigned the task of attracting those who would not normally visit museums to help to establish museums as an interesting optional leisure activity; ie worth turning the TV off for.
But at the end of last year, the newly elected Swedish government reinstated a significant obstacle: admission fees for national museums were brought back.
Since the restoration of fees, the national museums have reported a combined reduction of 40 per cent in the number of visits. This figure actually conceals a significant variation in the decline in visits of between 10 and 90 per cent depending on the museum.
The MWC lost one in every five visitors, which was better than expected. One encouraging feature is that the museum programmes, which offer a number of free activities have not been affected by a drop in the number of visits.
The decline has instead been in the number of visitors to exhibitions for which there is a charge. As expected, the proportion of visitors to traditional museums has increased.
Those who visit us less frequently are precisely those groups whom it has been our mission to attract and encourage, the people who perceive the museum as a novel way of socialising with friends, instead of perhaps just going shopping.
Interestingly, preliminary results also show that the more actively involved our visitors have been in the media debate concerning the restoration of admission, the less inclined they are to resign themselves to paying museum entry fees.
The relatively short period during which the policy of free admission was in place represented an invitation to a wider segment of the general public to become proactive in how we perceive the world around us, our origins and our destinations. The outcome of charging for entry to museums is as self-evident as it is disappointing.
Anna Mighetto is the director of marketing and communication at the Museum of World Culture, Gothenburg, Sweden
