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Survey to examine impact of paid museum admissions

The impact of charging on visitor spend, diversity of visitors and community reputation is to be assessed.

Christy Romer
2 min read

A new survey examining the impact of paid admissions on museum visitors has been launched by AIM, the Association of Independent Museums.

All UK museums, galleries and heritage sites are being encouraged to complete the online questionnaire whether they charge or not. The results, together with stakeholder interviews and detailed case studies, will form part of a wider study involving Arts Council England and the Museums Archives and Libraries Division of the Welsh Government. The survey will assess:

  • The relationship between the charging policy and the number / diversity of visitors
  • Visitor spend
  • Community reputation and relations
  • Whether the move from charging to free admission has any impact
  • The impacts of significant changes in pricing strategy, such as moving to an annual pass or introducing free entry for children.

Tamalie Newbery, Executive Director of AIM, said museums wanting to make an evidence-based decision about pricing “have very little information to draw on”. She continued: “AIM has commissioned this research to help each museum find the right policy for its circumstances.

“The findings of this research will be used to develop useful, free guidance for UK museums both to support their decision-making process and to assess how a change might affect them in the future.”

The survey closes on 11 April. Findings will be published on 24 June.