A survey conducted among 72 museums and historical sites across Gozo and Malta revealed that these sites registered 2.3 million admissions last year, up by 7.5 per cent over 2013, the National Statistics Office said today.

In 2014, the number of active museums and historical sites in Gozo and Malta stood at 72, eight more than the previous year. Slightly less than half the sites were owned by Private or Church Organisations; the rest were owned by the State.

The number of state managed museums stood at 26, or 36 per cent. On the other hand, 29 per cent were managed by voluntary or non-profit organisations and 35 per cent were run by the Church or private enterprises.

The largest category in the sector was Ethnology and Anthropology museums with 28 per cent, followed by Monuments and Sites with 24 per cent and Archaeology and History museums with 17 per cent. Over 70 per cent of the museums and historical sites had a regularly updated website and 33 per cent also had an active facebook page.

Total admissions were 2.3 million, of which 60 per cent were adults and senior citizens. Group entries and other admissions made up 26 per cent while the remaining 13 per cent were youths, students and children. Paid admissions accounted for the majority of admissions. Monuments and Sites had the highest proportion of overall admissions, at 33 per cent. Art museums and Archaeology and History museums were the next most popular, with 27 and 23 per cent of total admissions respectively.

In 2014, full-time paid staff employed by museums and historical sites amounted to 338, 57 per cent of the total work force in the sector. The majority of persons employed on a full-time basis were classified as 'other' staff, which include, among others, clerks, cleaners, messengers and security personnel.

Part-time employment in museums and historical sites numbered 102 or 17 per cent of all staff, while voluntary staff amounted to 152 or 26 per cent of all staff in 2014. The largest share of both part-timers and voluntary workers were classified as 'other' staff.

Total recurrent expenditure for active museums and historical sites in 2014 reached €12.6 million – an average of €174,751 per entity. There was a decrease of 2.7 per cent in average total expenditure per museum when compared to 2011 levels. Sixty-two per cent of total expenditure was on staff costs, 24 per cent was on administrative and other expenses and another 14 per cent on maintenance including sub-contracted projects.

The total income for these organisations amounted to €19.4 million, an average of €269,947 per site. Admission fees continued to be the main source of reported income.

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