England’s national museums will remain free to all visitors

England’s national museums will remain free to all visitors, including overseas tourists, after the government decided not to introduce a separate admission charge for international visitors. The decision preserves the universal free-entry policy at the country’s 15 national museums, which has been in place since 2001. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said charging overseas visitors could deter people who live in the UK from visiting. It also said the effects and benefits of such a policy would not be shared evenly across museums. Those concerns were the government’s stated reasons for dropping the option after months of discussion about whether tourist fees could help address financial pressures on museums. The government had begun examining the possibility after a review of Arts Council England recommended considering whether international visitor charges could bring the UK into line with countries such as New Zealand and Singapore. No charges will be introduced under the decision announced this week. The DCMS estimates that national museums contribute more than £1 billion a year to the economy.