United Kingdom to maintain free entry to national museums

The United Kingdom government has announced that admission to national museums will remain free for all visitors, including international tourists. This decision follows months of debate regarding a proposal to introduce entry fees for foreign visitors to bolster the financial resources of cultural institutions.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) stated that the government believes charging foreign visitors could discourage domestic tourism and that the financial benefits would not be distributed equitably across the sector. National museums contribute more than £1 billion annually to the UK economy.

Since 2001, permanent collections at institutions such as the British Museum and the National Gallery have been free to the public. In 2025, the Natural History Museum saw 7.1 million visitors, while the British Museum hosted 6.4 million. Data from the 2023/2024 fiscal year shows that international visitors accounted for 43% of total visits to national museums.

To support the sector, the government also announced additional investments, including £760 million through the ‘Arts Everywhere’ fund and £600 million for national museum infrastructure projects.