Many museums charge for admission while others are free. Do you think the advantages of charging people for admission to museums outweigh the disadvantages?

Question

It is true that while some museums are open free for everyone, others make vistors pay for their visits. In my opinion, I would contend that the benefits of selling tickets for visiting museums could be far greater than the drawbacks.

Many arguments could be made about the bad consequences of imposing fees on visiting museums. Firstly, museums could experience a decline in visit rates. Unlike movies in cinema, exhibits in the museum usually remain unchanged for a prolonged period. This means once comtemplating those, there is likely no need for people to revisit the museum and as a result, charging for entering could even more deter them from returning. Secondly, museums may normally be built to serve the community by governmental budget which is collected via taxes on people’s incomes. Hence, they might think their money is extracted if they are asked to buy tickets to museum. This would, in turn, create a hostile environment in public when the government wants to build more communal facilities in the coming time.

However, those arguments could be deceptive when considering greater advantages of the scheme. Charging for admission could generate capitals for operating museums in a more fascinating way. For example, to diminish the boredom of history exhibition, quizzes and video clips about the historical events associated with the exhibits could be held with prizes for the winners. These activities are not only educative but also entertaining and as a result it would attract many people, especially children to museums. Furthermore, soliciting money from people’s visits could be a good way for museums maintainance with no regards to governmental budget. Renovating museums is an inevitable occasion in the future and when it is due, earnings from tickets could come into use. Therefore, the government would have more budget to invest on other facilities like sports or libraries to enrich the community’s standards of living.

To conclude, while some consequences of charging for admission to museums could happen, I believe if the scheme is managed properly like reinvesting on operating activities or maintainance, the benefits would be greater than the drawbacks.

Answer 1

It is true that while some museums are open free for everyone, others make vistors pay for their visits have an admission charge. In my opinion, I would contend that the benefits of selling paying for tickets to visit museums could be far greater than the drawbacks.

Many arguments could be made about the bad consequences of imposing fees on visiting museums. Firstly, museums could experience a decline in visit rates. Unlike movies in cinema, exhibits in the museum usually remain unchanged for a prolonged period. This means once comtemplating those, there is likely no need for people to revisit the museum and as a result, charging for entering could even more deter them from returning. Secondly, museums may normally be built to serve the community by governmental budget which is collected via taxes on people’s incomes. Hence, they might think their money is extracted if they are asked to buy tickets to museum. This would, in turn, create a hostile environment in public when the government wants to build more communal facilities in the coming time. 

However, those arguments could be deceptive when considering greater advantages of the scheme. Charging for admission could generate capitals for operating museums in a more fascinating way. For example, to diminish the boredom of history exhibition, quizzes and video clips about the historical events associated with the exhibits could be held with prizes for the winners. These activities are not only educative but also entertaining; and as a result, it would attract many people, especially children to museums. Furthermore, soliciting money from people’s visits could be a good way for museums maintainance with no regards to governmental budget. Renovating museums is an inevitable occasion in the future and when it is due, earnings from tickets could come into use. Therefore, the government would have more budget to invest on other facilities like sports or libraries to enrich the community’s standards of living.

To conclude, while some consequences of charging for admission to museums could happen, I believe if the scheme is managed properly like reinvesting on operating activities or maintainance, the benefits would be greater than the drawbacks.