Museum directors fear that Britain may fall behind as a venue for cultural tourism. Mark Jones, chair of the National Museum Directors Conference, has written to Culture Minister Barbara Follett and to Christopher Rodriques, Chair of VisitBritain, welcoming the Government’s renewed focus on tourism and recognition of the contribution that culture makes to UK tourism.
But he adds that recent figures suggest that in 2007, for the third year in a row, visits to London’s major exhibitions declined in relation to those in Paris, Tokyo, New York and Washington. NMDC has also raised concerns about the ageing visitor profile and Britain’s failure to attract visitors from emerging market.
The NMDC has asked for government action to attract visitors from these markets, and wants Visit Britain to use marketing initiatives to bring in new audiences for museums.
In their letter, NMDC also calls for improvements in public transport links, particularly to museums outside central London, and the completion of the Exhibition Road project to improve visitor access to the Natural History Museum, Science Museum and V&A.