VISITOR numbers to Jersey’s national museum have plummeted following the axing of government-backed scheme to allow free entry, the JEP can reveal.
Jersey Heritage revealed that visitor numbers to Jersey Museum dropped from over 15,000 last summer to 11,600 this year – a 23% decrease.
The decline coincided with the reintroduction of entry fees from 1 July after the government said it was unable to continue supporting the initiative due to “well-publicised funding pressures”.
An adult ticket now costs £15.45 for adults aged over 16, while a family ticket for two adults and two children costs £46.45
And, leading local historian Doug Ford, said that removing barriers preventing access to the Island’s rich history would allow a greater understanding of Jersey’s “cultural background” while preserving it for future generations.
Reacting to the new figures, former Jersey Heritage community learning director Mr Ford – whose career with the organisation spanned around three decades – said that: “The cost of getting into museums is always going to be an issue.
“The more you can remove that barrier, the more people can engage with their heritage but also understand the cultural background of the place that they are [in].”
Mr Ford said that “free entry somewhere like the Jersey Museum, which is a general museum”, was “very valuable”.
He also pointed out that tourists visiting from the UK would be used to having access to many national museums for free.
Jersey Heritage’s director of curation and experience, Louise Downie, told the JEP that all of the charity’s sites saw an increase in visitors during the summer compared to last year, except for Jersey Museum.
In May, Jersey Heritage Board of Trustees Amy Hall stated that the government was unable to continue supporting the initiative due to “well-publicised funding pressures”.
This was despite a notable rise in visitor figures for the site, which stood at 41,075 for the first year of free entry compared to 20,822 in the 12 months before the scheme began.
Ms Downie stated: “Visitor numbers remained positive during June (while free entry was still in place) with an increase of nearly 15% that month compared to 2025, and numbers declined in July and August by nearly 46% and nearly 38% respectively.”
Speaking during a States sitting at the start of this month, Economic Development Minister Gerald Voisin revealed that he had asked his assistant minister, Senator Serena Kersten ,”to liaise with Jersey Heritage to review the effectiveness of the free trial”.
His update followed questions from Deputy Montfort Tadier, who has previously sought to defend arts, culture and heritage funding.
Deputy Tadier has called for the free-entry initiative, which was made possible by government support of around £500,000, to be picked back up.
