Alistair Hardaker
Proposal follows independent review of Arts Council England as overseas visitors reach 19.4m in 2024/25.
The government is considering the introduction of a foreign tourist entry fee at its DCMS-sponsored museums, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said today.
In a formal response to the independent review of Arts Council England, Nandy announced that among recommendations considered, it will explore “the potential opportunities that charging international visitors at museums could bring”.
The plans are being considered as overseas visitors slowly recover from pre-pandemic highs. A National Audit Office (NAO) report published earlier this month shows that the 15 museums and galleries sponsored by DCMS saw 19.4m overseas visitors in 2024/25. It represents an increase from 2023/24’s 17.5m overseas visitors, but is still below the pre-pandemic average of 22.6m.
If enacted, the fees could generate millions for museums and galleries annually, helping to ease climbing cost pressures. The NAO report shows that museums and galleries have increased their total self-generated income by 53% in real terms from 2021-22 to 2024-25, reaching £563m and returning to pre-pandemic levels despite lower visitor numbers.
This month the Natural History Museum broke records as UK’s top 2025 attraction, reaching an all-time record for visitors to a UK museum or gallery, according to annual ALVA figures.
Natural History Museum breaks records as UK’s top 2025 attraction
The independent review of Arts Council England by Baroness Margaret Hodge, published in December 2025, suggested that the government’s planned introduction of mandatory ID cards “would present a valuable opportunity to revisit the policy of free entry for international visitors to national museums and galleries”.
The government has since pulled back on plans to make the digital ID to work in the UK mandatory.
DCMS said it will work with Arts Council England and the sector over the coming months on the recommendations, which also include longer funding rounds for the National Portfolio of up to five years, incentivising philanthropy, and cultural tax reliefs.
Arts Minister Ian Murray said: “We will stand alongside the Arts Council as they implement these reforms to revolutionise the way we fund the arts in this country and the way we work with creatives and the public to provide the access to culture that our country needs, wants and deserves.”
The DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries are the British Museum, Museum of the Home, Horniman Museum, Imperial War Museums, National Gallery, National Museums Liverpool, National Portrait Gallery, Natural History Museum, Royal Armouries, Royal Museums Greenwich, Science Museum Group, Sir John Soane’s Museum, Tate Gallery Group, Victoria and Albert Museum and The Wallace Collection.
Requiring ID could create a barrier to entry
Art Fund has today published research which shows public support for protecting free admission for all to national museums.
Its poll of 2,000 people, carried out by More in Common, suggests nearly three quarters of the public (72%) believe that revenue from a potential tourist tax should be used to keep entry free instead.
It warned that charging overseas tourists at the door would require everyone to show ID, creating a barrier to entry for UK citizens, particularly those struggling financially.
The universal free admission policy came into effect on 1 December 2001. Art Fund called the policy an “overwhelming success” over 25 years, leading to a sustained increase in visits. Within the first decade, visits to formerly charging museums rose by 151%, with increases of more than 180% at the Natural History Museum and V&A, and 269% at National Museums Liverpool, it said.
Jenny Waldman, Director of Art Fund, said: “It is striking that the public does not want museums to start charging tourists but supports using a tourist levy. A levy, with some funds ringfenced, is a simpler way to deliver funding to keep the national museums free for everyone and ensure they continue to make the UK such a vibrant tourist destination.
“Charging tourists at the door risks putting up barriers for everyone.”
Sector response
The Royal Armouries Museum, one of the DCMS-sponsored museums, has responded to the announcement.
Taking to LinkedIn, the museum wrote “We must be candid: we have serious reservations about this proposal… A two-tier entry system would fundamentally undermine our commitment to universal access, and risks projecting the United Kingdom as a nation lacking in confidence and generosity of spirit.”
The museum’s director general Nat Edwards added: “This proposal is a superficial, short-term response to a deeper problem and offers considerably more challenges than benefits. The right answer is to make the full-throated case for properly and sustainably funding institutions that belong to everyone, and we look forward to doing exactly that during the consultation.”
