The National Museum of Wales (NMW) has joyfully announced record visitor numbers for last year’s trading, with four of its sites being able to say that they have had the highest number of visitors in their history. The museum is spread over seven sites, and the main museum building in Cardiff, the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, the National Wool Museum in Dre-fach Felindre and the National Roman Legion Museum in Caerleon all had highest ever figures.
Certainly the free entry is a particular draw, but tourism experts believe that two other factors have had a major impact on the record figures. Professor Terry Stevens is a consultant on strategic tourism, and said “ I'm not surprised they are reporting these figures. in tough economic conditions, when the consumer has a straight choice between a free product and a paid for product, they are going to choose a no charge for admission attraction. Also because the museums are perceived as being indoors they will attract people trying to escape poor weather."
He added: "Last year the National Museum was given additional money from the Welsh government for marketing. They had a very aggressive marketing campaign paid for by the Welsh government when the private sector was struggling."
However, a spokesman for NMW was quick to say that the comments from Professor Stevens relating to funding were not true, and that in fact they had not received extra money for a marketing campaign, with the opposite being the case, with funding having been cut from the previous year. Such was the parlous state of finances that earlier this year NMW announced about 35 permanent jobs will go as part of a restructuring plan. A further 160 posts will be affected among the 650 museum staff. It was also pointed out that the museum was no exception to the unprecedented financial challenges facing every public sector organisation in Wales.
This was all part of a programme to find £2.5m in savings over three years. But David Anderson, director general of NMW, said the latest figures were "testimony to the quality of the service delivered by the museums and the true value of the Welsh government's free entry policy". He added: "Breaking records such as these motivates us to continue to deliver for the people of Wales. We must remain relevant to all, not only appealing to our existing audiences but also attracting new visitors to interact with the national collections, which after all belong to the people of Wales."
Culture Minister John Griffiths described the figures as "fantastic". "Our museums have an important role to play in profiling the culture and history of Wales locally, nationally and internationally," he said.
Other museums that fall under the NMW umbrella are the National History Museum in St Fagans, National Coal Museum at Big Pit in Blaenavon and the National Slate Museum in Llanberis.
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