Museums should charge everyone for entry
sir – Tristram Hunt (report, September 10) suggests that there should be a “hotel tax” on tourists to keep museums and art galleries open without entrance fees.
One flaw is that a hotel tax would be paid by business people visiting London who have no intention of going to any museum or gallery. On the other hand it would not be paid by tourists using Airbnb. Equally it would not be paid by London residents, who are probably the most frequent visitors.
Instead, Mr Hunt should reintroduce entry fees, so that the costs of keeping the museums open are paid by those who want to visit.
Against the argument that nobody should have to pay to access their “birthright”, other organisations such as the National Trust and Historic Royal Palaces, which are no less part of our “birthright”, charge entry fees.
As many organisations do, they could offer 12-month free re-entry so that the cost to frequent visitors would be limited.
If the galleries and museums are truly concerned about our “birthright” they should consider giving access to the tens of thousands of objects which are rarely or never displayed. Substantial revenues could be raised by allowing these items to be rented for display in people’s homes or offices. Insurance could certainly be arranged. If a few less important items were lost, would it matter if they had never been displayed? Robert Ashton Shrewsbury