By Krystal Gibbons of RNZ
Te Papa has made $750,000 since it started charging international visitors an admission fee two months ago.
The change came in during September to help fund rising energy, insurance, and staffing costs at the museum.
Te Papa head of marketing and communications Kate Camp said ticket sales were currently at 97% of what Te Papa was expecting.
The museum sold 21,632 tickets between September 17 and November 24, an average of 314 tickets per day.
“Of course we’re just in that shoulder season now, we’re not quite into peak season. So that will be even more over the summer,” Camp said.
While the museum gets $44 million from the Government each year, it needs to earn at least another $30m to stay afloat.
Charging international visitors is expected to raise several million dollars per year.
Camp said feedback on the ticketing system so far had been mostly positive.
She said one of the trickiest situations was when New Zealanders came with international visitors and only some of the group had to pay.
That was the case for local Elisa, who had brought her Canadian friend Nicole to see the museum, not realising there was now a charge for overseas visitors.
Elisa had brought her friend to see the exhibitions on Māori culture, but said they would probably stay a bit longer after paying.
Perth visitors Paige and Ryan thought keeping it free for locals was a fair system.
“I think that’s very valid,” Paige said.
“Us coming in as foreigners, I think it’s fair that we pay a fee to see everything.”
Ryan also thought it was good to keep museums free for locals as it was a place where they could learn about their history.
Romy and Keira were also willing to pay.
“It’s common in Germany to pay for museums,” Romy said.
Americans Linda and Honey were used to a slightly different system.
“I live in Washington DC, our capital in the United States and all the national museums there are free,” Honey said.
“So I would not expect to pay for the museum, although this is a wonderful museum.”
Linda could also go to the museum for free. “I’m from Chicago and each museum has one day a week when it’s free.”
Camp said Te Papa was watching visitor behaviour closely and making improvements as it went.
“Because obviously this is an experiment. So we’re going to be watching that really closely over the summer and just improving things as we go.”
Tickets to Te Papa are $35 for all international visitors over the age of 16.
Entry to the museum remains free for all New Zealanders, including those who live overseas, and people living in Aotearoa.
– RNZ
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Ministry acting quickly after H7N6 detected on farm in Otago.