Increased visitor numbers to flight attractions.
The Royal Air Force Museum’s London and Cosford sites have enjoyed substantial year on year growth in visitor numbers for the period from 1th April 2014 to 31st March 2015. In total 724,525 members of the public visited the Museum’s sites at London and Cosford, up 29% on the previous year’s total of 563,120.
Visitor numbers for the Museum’s London site now stand at 369,109 an increase of 56%, while visitor numbers for Cosford stand at 355,416, including the Cosford Air Show, – up 9%.
This growth in numbers has been driven by three strategic decisions made by the Trustees of the Museum in late 2013: to invest more in the marketing of the museum’s London and Cosford sites to key audiences; to create engaging temporary exhibitions & events, promoting them through social media; and to invest in a new, technology-based counting system for visitor numbers as recognised throughout the Museum and Visitor Attraction sectors.
Commenting on this performance, Paul Hudson, Head of Marketing for the Museum stated: “This is a fantastic result for the Museum; and reflects the hard work that has been undertaken by staff members at all levels to ensure that our visitors enjoy the best possible experience when visiting us.
“Not only has the Museum developed new and exciting exhibitions, over the last 12 months, such as First World War in the Air and the Highly Commended Pilots of the Caribbean that talk directly to its various audiences, but we have invested heavily in a programme of public events that have engaged the imagination of the public and generated substantial word of mouth recommendations for the Museum.
“Events such as the 2014 Cosford Food Festival, Public Service Broadcasting’s Residency for Museums at Night 2014 and our Trenchard Lecture Series have all raised the profile within key audiences and lead visitor to growth at both sites – as have key partnerships with organisations such as Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games and Black Cultural Archives.
“We anticipate that growth in visitor numbers will continue to remain healthy throughout 2015 and 2016. Museum favourites such as the Cosford Air Show and the Bike4Life Festival already generate substantial coverage for us. Whilst we are confident that new events for 2015 ranging from September’s first annual Spitfire 10k in London to this summer’s Museum tour of Britain will effectively introduce both Museum sites to new audiences across the U.K.”