Our Director of Accounts, Sales and Marketing - Zoe Papiernik-Bloor - responds to our recently published evidence on the cost-of-living crisis from the Cultural Participation Monitor and shares how she is hearing directly from organisations still waiting for the post-pandemic boost.
Recent figures released from DCMS indicate that 30 funded museums and galleries across the UK saw visitors reach a four-year high in 2023/24. Although, still trailing more than 10% pre-pandemic footfall.
This is further supported by ALVA’s visitor figures which also shows a positive trend for visitors across museums, heritage and visitor attractions nationally in 2023.
But is this the full picture? In our daily conversations with organisations across the country we’ve heard countless examples of organisations still waiting for that post-pandemic boost, undoubtedly cost-of-living is likely to be a factor in this.
The recent Art Fund Director’s Report further highlights the disparity between organisations. 25% of museums now reporting audience numbers above pre-pandemic levels. 25% are back to 2019 levels, while half are rebuilding more slowly and have yet to regain their pre-COVID audiences.
As our evidence suggests, organisations with previously higher proportions of Commuterland Culturebuffs and Home & Heritage Audience Spectrum types are more likely to have seen a recent drop in audiences. This points to regional theatres, museums and galleries who are reliant on these core audiences for bookings, as well as the all-important secondary spend.
Ticketed organisations can see their Audience Spectrum profile in their Audience Answers dashboard which will show any notable changes over the past four years. For non-ticketed venues, postcode data can be transformed into an Audience Spectrum profile giving you a better idea of who’s currently engaging and how to think about re-engaging with lapsed visitors.
Our handy motivation guides could be a useful starting point if you’re thinking about your audience development strategy.
