Visitor numbers increasing for troubled Black Country Living History Museum
The Black Country Living Museum today revealed visitor numbers are finally on the up as bosses bid to turn around its finances.
The heritage museum made a loss of around £15,000 last year and £300,000 the year before that.
Visitor numbers dropped last year for the third year running to around 240,000.
But in the first eight months of this year the museum has seen visitor numbers bounce back – up 13 per cent to 185,448 compared to the same time last year.
The figures also show an increase in people coming through the doors during the six-week school holiday period, up 10 per cent to 52,915.
The numbers were boosted by successful events such as the 1940s Weekend and the Family Night, which sold out for the first time.
What other events would you like to see hosted at the museum? Leave your comments below.
Marketing and communications director Laura Wakelin said: "We are very pleased about the number of people we have seen this year, it is especially good to see the numbers up over the summer period.
"This is an exciting period for the museum and we look to further our appeal to visitors, not just from the local area but further afield."
Mrs Wakelin said the increase in visitor numbers along with an investment to come from a £2.56 million Arts Council grant for 2015 to 2018 will help the museum's finances.
She said: "Last year the loss had been significantly lower from the year before, and we hope that continues with the increase of visitor numbers and work we are carrying out."
Mrs Wakelin put the increase in visitor numbers down to the good summer weather, 'astute' marketing and new features such as the replica of a greengrocers in Willenhall, which opened before the school holidays.
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She added: "We are an open air museum and I think the good weather may have also helped us."
Mrs Walkelin said: "We see a large percentage from the local area, that is good news but we also think it is important we educate people further about the Black Country. Most people who visit us are from within a 90 minute drive, we are looking to expand on that as much as possible."
