Museums prove a bigger draw than football attraction than football

[14 December 2006 - The Independent (UK)] More people visited museums and galleries than attended all of league football including the Premiership last year, according to a report by the respected analyst Tony Travers. He estimated the annual economic benefit of the UK's major museums and galleries at £1.5bn with roughly £1 in every £1,000 in the UK economy directly related to the sector. But Mr Travers, of the London School of Economics, warned that theinstitutions would need extra money if they were going to continue to deliver and not fall behind heavily funded international competitors. ... The report, Museums and Galleries in Britain: Economic, Social and Creative Impacts, was commissioned by the National Museum Directors' Conference and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council in the run- up to the next Comprehensive Spending Review where cuts are threatened. Its message on the significance of museums and galleries to the British economy as well as to the national well-being will be stressed in negotiations. More