A POLITICIAN who has been calling for the return of a government-backed scheme enabling free entry to Jersey Museum has said he is “likely” to bring forward a proposition if further conversations with ministers prove unsuccessful.
Deputy Montfort Tadier said that it was “ultimately a political decision” as to whether the initiative, which was in place from July 2024 to July 2026, would be reinstated.
His comments come less than a month after Jersey Heritage revealed that summer visitor numbers to Jersey Museum dropped from more than 15,000 last year to 11,600 this year – a 23% decrease.
The charity noted the timing of the decline in relation to the reintroduction of entrance fees from 1 July 2026, after the government ended support for the free-entry scheme.
Economic Development Minister Gerald Voisin stated that the trial was supported through government funding to compensate for the loss of admissions income to the value of £497,000.
In the wake of questions from Deputy Tadier earlier this year, Deputy Voisin revealed he had asked his assistant minister Senator Serena Kersten “to liaise with Jersey Heritage to review the effectiveness of the free trial”.
Speaking to the JEP, Deputy Tadier argued that it was “ultimately a political decision whether our main national museum is free for people to go into”.
He said: “We can’t get away from the fact that the UK, where most of our visitors come from – and also people who visit the UK from elsewhere – will be used to the fact that museums there are free to get into and you can make donations if you want to, to most public museums.
“And I think that would be something that’s really valuable as a value added for the tourism industry in Jersey.”
He acknowledged that “we are in difficult times financially” and that there was “government restraint”, but contended that “in the long run it would be better for locals and visitors”.
“The world will get out; ‘oh yeah I came to Jersey a couple of years ago, their national museum is really great, it’s free to get into’.”
Commenting on his next steps, Deputy Tadier said he was going to have “further conversations” with ministers and Jersey Heritage to see if the scheme could be reinstated for next year.
“If they’re not willing to do that, then I would likely lodge a proposition to that effect,” he added.
Deputy Tadier also noted that the UK Government confirmed at the end of last month that universal free admission to national museums in England would continue, following discussions over whether to introduce charges for overseas visitors.
In a statement, the country’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said that “the government believes that charging overseas visitors could deter domestic visitors and that the impacts and benefits of charging would not be felt equally across the sector”.
