Free admission to national museums was introduced in 2001. In the years between 2000 and 2004 visits to museums and galleries in England increased by 16 per cent. During the same period, visits to historic sites grew by only 4 per cent - less than the 11 per cent increase in attraction visits overall.
The free admission initiative was intended to be positive - to increase visits and the diversity of visitors to museums and galleries. But if the objective of broadening the visitor base had been met, it should have grown the whole cultural attractions sector, with minimal negative impact on historic sites.
However, a Museums, Libraries and Archives Council report of 2004 said that 'compared with 1999, it would appear that museum and gallery visiting has, in fact, concentrated more into the hands of ABC1s' - the traditional core audience of cultural attractions.
This is supported by findings from the ALVA (Association of Leading Visitor Attractions) Benchmarking Survey, carried out at many of the country's top museums and galleries since 1997, which shows no significant broadening of visitor profiles in recent years.
So, many of the additional 6 million visits to museums in 2004 reported by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport would have been made by typical 'cultural attraction visitors'. Competition for people's leisure time has increased, so we can assume these people are making extra visits to museums on occasions when they might have visited historic sites.
According to VisitBritain's Visitor Attraction Trends England 2005, more than half of museums and galleries are now free, compared with just over one in ten historic sites. Qualitative research found that a key reason for the popularity of museums among these 'cultural attraction visitors' is free admission. Free admission encourages spontaneous and quick visits.
Conversely, the (relatively) high investment of money and therefore time required for a visit to a charging historic site means it is often reserved for a 'big day out' or a special treat. Even on these occasions, historic sites still face fierce competition from the appealing proposition of free museums, as well as other leisure attractions.
The ALVA survey shows that free admission has had a positive impact on the visitor experience at national museums. Increased ratings have been recorded for value for money, enjoyment and recommendation.
As this growing satisfaction with the experience encourages recommendations and repeat visitors, museums will become even more 'top of mind', further increasing the pressure on historic sites.
Free admission has not been without problems for museums.
But for self-funding historic sites, it has made conserving the nation's historic environment even more of a challenge. The effects of free admission on the wider cultural sector should now be more fully considered.
Emma Bradbury is an associate director in the tourism, travel and leisure team at BDRC
emma.bradbury@bdrc.co.uk
For more information about ALVA contact Robin Broke at email@alva.org.uk
The free admission initiative was intended to be positive - to increase visits and the diversity of visitors to museums and galleries. But if the objective of broadening the visitor base had been met, it should have grown the whole cultural attractions sector, with minimal negative impact on historic sites.
However, a Museums, Libraries and Archives Council report of 2004 said that 'compared with 1999, it would appear that museum and gallery visiting has, in fact, concentrated more into the hands of ABC1s' - the traditional core audience of cultural attractions.
This is supported by findings from the ALVA (Association of Leading Visitor Attractions) Benchmarking Survey, carried out at many of the country's top museums and galleries since 1997, which shows no significant broadening of visitor profiles in recent years.
So, many of the additional 6 million visits to museums in 2004 reported by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport would have been made by typical 'cultural attraction visitors'. Competition for people's leisure time has increased, so we can assume these people are making extra visits to museums on occasions when they might have visited historic sites.
According to VisitBritain's Visitor Attraction Trends England 2005, more than half of museums and galleries are now free, compared with just over one in ten historic sites. Qualitative research found that a key reason for the popularity of museums among these 'cultural attraction visitors' is free admission. Free admission encourages spontaneous and quick visits.
Conversely, the (relatively) high investment of money and therefore time required for a visit to a charging historic site means it is often reserved for a 'big day out' or a special treat. Even on these occasions, historic sites still face fierce competition from the appealing proposition of free museums, as well as other leisure attractions.
The ALVA survey shows that free admission has had a positive impact on the visitor experience at national museums. Increased ratings have been recorded for value for money, enjoyment and recommendation.
As this growing satisfaction with the experience encourages recommendations and repeat visitors, museums will become even more 'top of mind', further increasing the pressure on historic sites.
Free admission has not been without problems for museums.
But for self-funding historic sites, it has made conserving the nation's historic environment even more of a challenge. The effects of free admission on the wider cultural sector should now be more fully considered.
Emma Bradbury is an associate director in the tourism, travel and leisure team at BDRC
emma.bradbury@bdrc.co.uk
For more information about ALVA contact Robin Broke at email@alva.org.uk
