England’s national museums will remain free for overseas visitors after ministers ruled out introducing admission charges to boost funding.
England’s national museums will remain free for overseas visitors after the government decided against introducing admission charges.
The decision follows months of discussions involving the government, museums, the tourism sector and local leaders over whether charging international visitors could help ease funding pressures.
The government announced in March that it would explore charging overseas visitors as part of efforts to address financial pressures facing museums.
But the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said charging could deter domestic visitors and that the financial benefits would not be shared equally across the sector.
The UK’s 15 national museums, including 12 in London, have offered free admission to all visitors since 2001.
A review published last year by former Labour minister Baroness Margaret Hodge had suggested charging international tourists could bring the UK closer to countries including New Zealand and Singapore, where some museums charge overseas visitors.
But DCMS confirmed on Tuesday that free admission would remain for everyone.
A DCMS spokesperson said the government believed charging overseas visitors could deter domestic visitors and that the impact would vary across museums.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said museums should remain accessible to everyone.
The department said national museums contribute more than £1bn to the economy each year and attract millions of visitors from around the world.
The Natural History Museum and British Museum recorded 7.1 million and 6.4 million visitors respectively in 2025.
Natural History Museum director Dr Doug Gurr said the museum could have benefited financially from charging overseas visitors but argued that the wider sector would have lost out.
British Museum director Nicholas Cullinan also welcomed the decision, saying the museum was founded in 1753 with the principle that it should be free for everyone.
The government also highlighted £760m in museum funding through its £1.5bn Arts Everywhere Fund and £600m in infrastructure funding for national museums.
It said a £13.6m museum transformation programme would help museums develop more sustainable business models.
Ministers will also work with the Arts Council and the museum sector on a long-term strategic plan, with further details expected later.
