Visitorship vs Revenue

...And on the other hand, this article reminds me that an increase in visitorship does not necessarily translate into an increase in dollars. So what's a museum to do? Welcome staycationers with open arms, knowing that it won't result in more money now but hoping that it will lead to future memberships and donations? C'mon marketers, development and membership officers--on your toes? How are we going to take this boon of visitors and turn it into ongoing support for our museums?

Top five Most-Visited Museums Worldwide

Louvre, Paris: 8.5 million visitors
British Museum, London: 5.9 million visitors
National Gallery of Art, DC: 4.96 million visitors
Tate Modern, London: 4.95 million visitors
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: 4.82 million visitors

Source: NY Times

More on Increased Attendance for Museums

What I like about this article is that, well, yes, it is happy news about museum attendance in the past year, but it also talks about the difficulties and inaccuracies with using attendance as a metric. First of all, what do we count as a visit? Do we count everyone who walks in the door? What if a staff member walks in the front door instead of the staff entrance the guard doing the clicking doesn't recognize the staff member? What about museum members? They aren't bringing in additional money with their repeated visits, at least not through admissions. What about other sorts of members who may have reciprocal privileges and can therefore visit the museum for free? What about school groups--do they get counted separately? So, yes, it is good that museum visit numbers are up, but what does that really mean when all is said and done?

Second, the article offers suggestions for why we are seeing an increase in attendance, such as the fact that astronomical gas prices have kept people closer to home--talk of "staycations" were all the rage this past summer, or citing the "Bilbao effect" (note: the Bilbao effect, when the architecture of a museum inspires and increase in visitorship, is a temporary effect and should not be counted upon for sustained increases!).

Museums Beat Casinos, 54-32

More interesting reports regarding museums and the down-turned economy. According to the recently released economic census, museums saw a 54% increase in receipts between 2002 and 2007, whereas theme parks, casinos and other competing leisure time destinations only increased 32%. AAM President Ford Bell is quoted as citing the fact that more museums tend to focus on value-added (my term, not his) ancillaries to round out one's visit to a museum, such as improved dining and shopping experiences. But casinos and theme parks offer all of those "enhancements" (Bell's word) and enticements, too. So why the significant difference in the increases? Is it that the entertainment industry has been offering value-added experiences for longer, so they didn't have as far up to go? Or is that the American public really does love museums that much more than gambling and Mickey Mouse? I sure hope it's the latter rather than the former... What do you think?

Visitorship Up, Revenue Down

More good news! Despite the Getty's financial woes due to the stock market, their visitorship is up--yay! That still doesn't help those who are being/will be laid off, and more admissions to the Getty doesn't necessarily translate into more revenue coming in since the admission price is well, free, but it does show that museums can maintain or even increase the number of people coming through the doors during these trying times.

Couple of thoughts, however. First is, the Getty's visitorship is up and their admission is free. Is that a point in favor of my argument that museums right now should be *lowering* their admission prices rather than *raising* them in order to increase the number of visitors?

Second, does anyone out there have any stats on how the economy is affecting *virtual* museum visits? Are more people going to museum websites? If so, are they stopping there, or are they translating into actual visits to the physical plant?

Once Again: When, How, Why and Whether to Raise Admissions

So, I've noticed out there that a number of museums are raising their admission prices, including, according to the Chicago Tribune, the venerable Art Institute in Chicago.

Given the present economic climate and the constant need for unrestricted operational funds for museums, this is not a terribly surprising move. But what I wonder is how the public will react. With most people tightening their belts right now and unemployment rates sky rocketing, spending is already focused more on the "essentials" rather than the "extras." Sadly, museums tend to fall into the latter category.

But wait, in the Great Depression, didn't movies do well? Despairing people seeking a little escapism shelled out the nickle to go forget their own troubles for a little while. Well, movies are certainly one of the leisure-time competitors faced by museums. What are the movies doing? Are they raising their admissions? Would it make more sense right now for museums to *lower* their admissions or offer more free days in order to raise visitorship?

I'm really not sure what the answer is here, but I will be curious to see what happens to the visitorship of those museums raising their prices--and to see whether or not movies raise theirs.