The UK government will explore the possibility of charging a fee to international visitors for accessing museums and galleries as part of a raft of changes aimed at improving funding for arts and culture in the country.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has responded to the recommendations laid out in the Hodge Review, an independent review of Arts Council England (ACE) conducted by Baroness Hodge that was published last year.
In her review, Baroness Hodge recommended that the government explore ways to secure funding for the arts, including imposing fees on tourists visiting national museums and galleries once a digital ID system or ID cards are implemented.
Hodge noted that implementing ID cards would provide an easy way to charge international visitors for access to these attractions while still allowing residents to enter at no cost. Other countries that take this approach include Singapore and New Zealand.
In response to this recommendation, the government said it will work with the museum sector to explore the potential opportunities and timeframes around charging international visitors at national museums.
The government believes charging international visitors at national museums could provide significant benefits and support the long-term financial resilience of these organisations.
“We will work with the museum sector to explore options for charging international visitors that will deliver benefits for the sector and we will provide an update before the end of the year,” the department said.
Tourism levy on overnight stays
Another recommendation in the Hodge Review was the imposition of a tourism levy: a fee charged to international visitors on overnight stays in England.
The government has already looked at this type of levy and is currently consulting on whether to allow local mayors the freedom to impose a fee on overnight stays for international travellers.
It noted that a visitor levy on short-term, commercially-let overnight accommodation could support long-term local growth and investment, including in the tourism industry.
The results of this ongoing consultation into mayoral powers will be published in due course, it said.
“We are convinced [Baroness Hodge’s] vision will help us to anchor our arts in our people and places and help us to recover our sense of self-confidence as a nation and turn outwards to the world,” said Culture, Media, and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy.
“That is why we are accepting every recommendation made by the Hodge Review.”
“This is not a licence for business as usual. For so long arts organisations have had to exist day to day, focusing on protecting and preserving our institutions,” she said.
“We will work with you to rebuild the foundations but in return we ask you to blow the doors off, to become anchors in our communities, enable access to excellence everywhere and provide the chance for every person in our country to live richer, larger lives.”
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