A £20 fee would could down queues and support restoration projects, said Sir Mark Jones
The former director of the British Museum and V&A has said major museums should introduce an entrance fee to visitors from overseas in order to raise revenue.
Speaking to The Times this weekend, Jones said an entry fee at major museums and galleries including the National Gallery, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum, alongside the British Museum, should not be free to visitors from abroad.
He said it “would make sense for us to charge overseas visitors for admission to museums as they charge us when we visit their museums. The biggest visitor attractions in Britain are our great museums and galleries, yet that does not translate into the resources needed to maintain them.”
Jones stepped into the role of interim director at the British Museum last September, having spent 17 years prior in curatorial roles there. He has previously served as Director of National Museums Scotland and the V&A.
“The British put a very high value on free entry to museums — that is our tradition,” he said.
“People who support museums as taxpayers shouldn’t also have to pay to visit them.”
Jones said entrance to museums and galleries should remain free to overseas visitors younger than 25 years old, but that a fee for those over that age would also help to manage visitor numbers, and would assist with renovation costs.
“There is a huge queue outside the museum every morning and often through the day,” Jones said, speaking about the British Museum.
“The museum is too busy for people to experience it as they should; fighting your way through the crowds doesn’t put you in the best state of mind to look at the collections.”
While the British Museum was the most visited attraction in the country last year according to visitor figures from The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA), DCMS figures suggest the number of overseas visitors to the museum has remained below pre-pandemic levels.
