Although we are now seeing the hottest temperatures of 2023, summer officially ended on 31 August and a new school term has begun, and I wanted to thank you all for the relentless work required during the busiest of weeks of the year for the Museum (10 July – 3 September).
It is always an especially unyielding time for front-line staff, but all professions feel it at this time of year. To come through with such great visitor feedback on the programme, the Row of Six and its new storylines and characters, as well as strong visitor attendance is a fabulous achievement.
So far as visitor attendance, we have performed very well (despite the vagaries of the weather), being 30% higher than a comparable period in 2022, although 5% below the budget we set for the eight weeks of summer. So, during the eight weeks we welcomed 107,619 visitors – our busiest ever summer, with three of those individual weeks seeing over 16,000 people visiting the Museum. The Summer Lates also continued to be popular, with 8,368 visitors across the four Fridays in August, an increase of 17% on last year.
The dip against forecast during August means the year-to-date results (i.e., from the 1 January 2023) are now almost exactly on budget: 261,607 against a budget of 260,750. That result also means we are currently 15% ahead of a comparable period in 2022, buoyed by Forging Ahead developments and continued strong demand for UnChained Annual Passes, both of which are strengthening the Museum’s beneficial long-term relationships with visitors.
A special word of thanks for everyone involved in getting Hobbs’ and Sons Fish & Chip Shop back up and running within just a few days of the range fire. It is a special part of the character of the Museum and, as we know, much loved by visitors.
We now gear-up for the autumn-winter events season, with plenty to look forward to.
At the next staff briefing, I provide further updates.
With my thanks.
Andrew Lovett OBE
Chief Executive
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