New figures show that attendance at museums which scrapped admission fees in 2001 has risen dramatically, although possibly at the expense of those museums which have never charged for admission. The figures, compiled by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) indicate an overall rise of 67% in attendance at those museums including the V&A, the Natural History Museum and the Imperial War Museum which used to charge admission fees.
However, attendances had dropped over the same period at many of the museums which never charged for admission. The British Museum saw attendance fall by 6% and visitors to the National Gallery dropped by 14%. There was an 11% drop in visits to all DCMS-sponsored London Museums in the second half of last year following the London bombings last July, but a Government spokesman said that visitor numbers were starting to pick up again.
Published: 10-04-2006