On average, museums experienced a 10% drop in visitors compared to pre-pandemic figures. Nearly a third of museums reported a decline of 25% or more, and half saw their numbers fall by more than 10%. However, there were signs of resilience, with 27% of museums reporting a visitor increase of over 10%.
In contrast, digital engagement has surged. Social media followings grew by an average of 61% since 2019/20, with three in four museums seeing growth of over 25%.
Staffing levels remained relatively stable, but staff-related expenditure rose sharply, up 32% over five years. While one-third of museums reported staffing increases of more than 10%, 27% saw reductions of a similar scale.
Opening hours have shown a gradual and sustained recovery since the pandemic. However, opening hours in more than a third (36%) of museums are down from 2019-20
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The study, covering 2019–2024, draws on data from Accredited non-national museums in England.
