London museums and galleries to adopt American-style charges

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has put forward plans to use a system similar to one found in New York, where visitors to a museum or gallery should pay a so-called ‘recommended’ fee to enter. There are many museums and galleries in London that are free to enter but without a fee to get in, many of the younger generation are not appreciating what they are visiting, the mayor believes.

A ‘suggested’ fee is in place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and after the mayor’s recent visit to the city, he has decided to implement a similar system in London. He claims that people can put their own price on their visit. This will avoid putting people off from visiting, he says, pointing out that the system has worked very successfully in the US. Mayor Johnson believes there is no reason that it will not be just as lucrative across the pond.

The main problem with the free entry system is that too many people do not then understand the value of their visit and this devalues their visit. The idea is not to coerce people into paying for something that was otherwise free, but more to encourage people to truly realise the worth of the displays.