Museum tourism on the decline

MEXICO CITY (El Universal).— Four years into the health crisis, Mexico’s museums have not managed to recover pre-Covid-19 attendance levels, mainly due to a lack of budget and dissemination, experts warned.

The number of visitors to major museums totaled 4.9 million people in the first half of 2024, 15% lower than the 5.7 million reported in the first half of 2019, prior to the pandemic, according to statistics from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

“One of the major shortcomings of national museums in the last five years has been the serious budgetary limitations imposed by the austerity policy,” explained Raymundo Tenorio, professor emeritus at Tec de Monterrey.

“They have been deprived of money for their operations, which also includes promotion, and without that, there is little that can be done to get people to attend these cultural spaces,” the academic added.

Nine out of 10 museum visitors are from Spain, but while in the first six months of the year the number of foreign visitors has already reached 10.6% above the level reached in the same period five years ago, the number of local visitors still shows a lag of 17.3%.

This is remarkable considering that Mexico is the country with the second largest number of museums in Latin America, with 1,789 facilities, second only to Brazil, which has 2,447, according to the most recent report from the Latin American Institute of Museums and Parks.

Similarly, only 8% of adults surveyed in Mexico last year reported having purchased tickets to museums or art exhibitions in the past 12 months, half of what was reported by China, which ranked first, according to a survey conducted by Statista Consumer Insights.

Top Ten decimated

Nine of the 10 most visited museums in the country are still below the visitation levels recorded in the first half of 2019. The case of the Museo Nacional del Virreinato, in Mexico City, stands out, with a 50.4% contraction in the number of visitors in the first half of 2024 compared to those reported in the same period in 2019.

In order of importance, the National Museum of Cultures (CDMX) follows, with 49.7% fewer visitors in the same period; the Regional Museum of Guanajuato Alhóndiga de Granaditas, 43.4%; the Museo del Templo Mayor, in the Zócalo (CDMX), 42.0%, and the National Museum of Interventions, also in the capital, with a lag of 29.2%.

The only one of the 10 most visited venues that has already recovered pre-pandemic levels is the National Museum of Anthropology, the most visited in the country, with 1.8 million people, a figure 15.0% higher than that reported in the first six months of 2019.

It is worth noting that, of this group of the 10 most visited venues, seven are located in Mexico City.

Reasons and motivations

According to experts, the main reasons why people do not visit museums in the country are lack of dissemination and publicity, or lack of knowledge of the collection they offer, with a response rate of 18.0%; lack of culture or education, 17.0%, and because they do not have time, 15.7%, according to the results of the Museum Statistics carried out by Inegi in 2023.

“This is an issue that has a lot to do with cultural tourism and, apparently, there is a lack of greater coordination between the Ministries of Culture and Tourism for its promotion, in addition to the fact that budget cuts may be affecting its dissemination,” explained Pablo Álvarez Icaza, professor at the Higher School of Tourism of the National Polytechnic Institute.

“Courses are given inside museums by very high-level researchers, guided tours are given with very comprehensive talks, and it is unfortunate that there are very few people who know about these types of services due to the lack of dissemination,” he added.

He said that the next administration needs to provide resources to museums through an efficient budget.

“With the new six-year term approaching, there is good potential to give a strong boost to cultural tourism, especially in Mexico City, which is the area with the most museums in the country,” added Álvarez Icaza.

Cabañas MuseumControversy

Cabañas Museum disclaims any misuse of the video mural that alludes to “El Mencho.”

Without authorization

The Cabañas Museum in Guadalajara reported that it did not authorize the use of images from the mural “Man on Fire” by José Clemente Orozco for the video “I Get Belikón” by Luis R. Conriquez and Máxima Ventaja, which refers to the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Oseguera, alias “El Mencho.”

Details

In a statement, the cultural center also said that the video clip was not recorded inside the venue, since the images shown do not correspond to the facilities. It also assured that it will begin the corresponding legal process.

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