APPENDIX 5
Memorandum submitted by the English Tourism
Council
INQUIRY INTO NATIONAL MUSEUMS
1. The English Tourism Council (ETC) was
created in 1999 to replace the English Tourist Board (ETB) established
by Parliament under the Development of Tourism Act 1969. ETC exists
to provide strategic advice to Government on tourism policy, to
conduct research, to promote best practice, to improve quality
standards and to support the development of tourism throughout
England. ETC received £11.6 million grant-in-aid in 2002-03,
through the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
2. The English Tourism Council launched
its Actions for Attractions Strategy in November 2000.
The strategy aims to improve understanding of the dynamics of
the attractions sector and its vulnerability to changes in demand
and increased competition. In response to one of the main recommendations
of the strategy the English Tourism Council set up a cross-sectoral
advisory group, the Attractions Forum.
3. It is clear that the expansion of free
visitor attractions is a benefit to the customer. In high price
locations like London it adds to the range of activities for visitors
and enhances the perception of "value for money". London
has been described as one of the greatest cultural capitals of
the world. This is reflected by the large number of Government-sponsored
museums and galleries in London that are of national and international
importance. They are a magnet to visitors and scholars alike,
and are of significant importance to the tourism industry. We
are delighted to see from a DCMS press release that as of 9 August
2002 there has been a 62 per cent increase in museum visits. We
note that the introduction of free admission has had a significant
impact on visits to the Victoria and Albert Museum which have
increased by 157 per cent (DCMS 9.8.02), and at the Science Museum
which has seen an increase in visits of 82 per cent (DCMS 9.8.02).
4. The other key factor to consider is the
long-term impact on the range and quality of other visitor attractions.
The impact of free admission to government-funded visitor attractions
remains a key concern for the Attractions Forum as it is believed
that free entry creates a displacement effect. Research from the
Survey of Visits to Tourist Attractions 1999 states that
in 1999 2,531 attractions provided free admission. Although these
accounted for 41 per cent of all attractions they received 55
per cent of visits.[1]
Commercial operators feel that they are disadvantaged by preferential
pricing initiatives for Government-sponsored museums. Most commercial
attractions have very high fixed costs and narrow operating margins
and are highly susceptible to the detrimental effect of factors
beyond their control. A government policy that creates a situation
that adversely affects the viability of paid attractions and distorts
the market may have a negative long-term impact on the number
and range of tourist attractions.
5. An objective within Tomorrow's
Tourism, the Government's strategy for tourism, is to encourage
tourists to explore all parts of England, and visit the many hidden
cultural gems throughout England. We do of course recognise that
there are a number of national museums in the regions who have
also benefited from the introduction of free admission. Indeed
we note that both the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside
and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester have also
seen an increase in visits of nearly 70 per cent. However the
Government-sponsored museums in the regions are primarily located
in a few Northern cities, and in fact many English regions contain
few, if any, national museums, and are therefore not able to benefit
from this initiative. We are also concerned to note that although
the Tate Galleries in London are free, the Tate Gallery in St
Ives is currently charging £4.25 for adults and £2.50
for concessions.
6. Most of the Government-sponsored museums
have received significant recent investment. They now have world-class
facilities, which have contributed to the prestige and pride of
the nation. Although much investment has concentrated on collections
care, exhibitions and educational facilities, enhanced customer
service facilities have also contributed to the enjoyment of visitors.
In addition facilities such as restaurants and shops provide an
important source of additional revenue. However most of these
improvements took place prior to the decision to introduce free
admission and their plans did not necessarily reflect the dramatic
rise in visits.
7. A huge rise in visits places a tremendous
strain on a museum. At the basic level additional cleaning staff
are required to ensure that visitor facilities such as cloakrooms
and toilets are maintained to a high standard. The capacity of
restaurants and shops may also be inadequate for such an increase
in visitor numbers. Exhibits are also likely to be less accessible
when there are very large visitor numbers. Overall there may well
be a significant reduction in visitor enjoyment when the number
of visitors stretches a museum to capacity. The Government needs
to ensure that museums are able to devote adequate investment
to customer services and visitor management plans as well as the
infrastructure of the institution. If this does not happen these
magnificent institutions will find their world-class status slipping
away.
8. The English Tourism Council undertakes
its own visitor attraction research. The annual Survey of Visits
to Visitor Attractions is conducted at the end of each year
among all known visitor attractions. At this stage, it has been
difficult to draw any firm conclusions on the impact of free admissions
because statistics were being collected just as free admission
was introduced. In addition England's 4,500 visitor attractions
span a diverse range of organisations, many of which are operated
by the private sector and not-for-profit organisations. Indeed
government agencies and local authorities own just one third of
attraction owners.
9. Free admission to museums is clearly
proving to be very successful for those museums who benefit from
the policy, however the English Tourism Council notes with some
concern the findings of the most recent Mori poll on free entry
(September 2002). The poll indicates that 45 per cent of the population
visit museums, however it appears that 41 per cent of these visitors
were not influenced by the abolition of admission charges, and
a further 40 per cent of visitors were not even aware that national
museum entry fees had been abolished. It is difficult to draw
any firm conclusions from these findings as the poll was conducted
right across the UK not just in areas where there are national
museums. It is possible that if the poll had focussed just on
London visitors where there is a concentration of national museums,
the results might have been different. The English Tourism Council
is committed to encouraging more people to enjoy a holiday and
is therefore cautious about the extent to which free admission
is really able to benefit a significant number of English domestic
visitors. The English Tourism Council would welcome a more detailed
analysis of the increase in museum visitors to obtain precise
information about the impact of free admission, and establish
why free entry alone has not been enough to encourage a significant
increase in non-traditional museum visitors.
10. A range of different bodies funds England's
museums. These include local authorities, independent governing
bodies as well as the armed forces. In addition both the National
Trust and English Heritage also have museums. Admission fees reflect
this diversity, prices vary considerably and indeed for many years
some local authority museums have had a policy of free admission.
It is therefore important to ensure that a policy of free admission
to government-sponsored museums does not distort the visitor attraction
market. Admission charges already create considerable confusion
for the tourist.
11. The English Tourism Council considers
that overall the introduction of free admission has been of positive
benefit to tourists although the policy may ultimately prove detrimental
to the commercial attractions sector. In conclusion we would like
to highlight the following issues for the Committee to consider:
— The Government must ensure that the increase
in visits does not result in the deterioration of the visitor
experience in Government-funded museums.
— The Government also needs to ensure
that museums use accurate and consistent methods to count visitors.
This will facilitate the collection and analysis of visitor number
statistics.
— Research is needed to establish the
variations that free admission has produced in aspects such as
visitor profile, visit behaviour, visitor satisfaction, frequency
of visit and length of stay, so that the overall effect on the
use and appreciation of museum exhibitions can be understood.
— More work is required to study the
effects of free admission on commercial attractions. This will
inform the development of clear policies to ensure the delivery
of social inclusion objectives while avoiding damage to the existing
commercial sector. It is therefore particularly important that
this research is undertaken before the Government reaches a decision
on the introduction of free admission to Government-funded historic
properties.
3 October 2002
1 Major national museums form only a small percentage
of attractions, many free attractions are small community-related
facilities where it would not be appropriate to charge for entry. Back
| 
