In 2023 we asked heritage organisations who work directly with the public how their peak season had gone – the answers were stark, and heavily featured the struggle to navigate cost increases, particularly rising energy prices, as inflation ran at its highest level for decades.
This year when we repeated the questions, that instant and intense pressure caused by inflation appears to have reduced somewhat – most measures of income and expenditure are said to have seen ‘some’ increase rather than ‘big’ increases.
What conclusions can we draw from the latest data? For me, the responses contain indicators that trading income, or earned income, will continue to grow as an area of focus for public-facing heritage organisations in 2025.
Respondents to the latest round reported increased demand for visits and for community activities, but most reported that their acquisition of new members / supporters was unchanged. Alongside this, though a majority of respondents reported some growth in their trading/earned income, respondents were more likely to say that income from on-site donations was “unchanged”, as was income from friends, members and supporters. In this sample, it appears that trading income is up, but income from affiliation and philanthropy is not rising as quickly.
When we asked organisations about their costs, they told us that costs which are often not in their direct control – energy, direct costs, and overheads -were seeing some increase, which is the answer we’d expect in usual, inflationary times. More striking however is that when asked about a cost which leaders can control – payroll – while “some increase” was still the most common answer, almost as many organisations said their payroll was “unchanged”.
Is this an early indication that pay, or the total size of the payroll in organisations with paid staff, is coming under pressure to make ends meet? When volunteer-led organisations are excluded from the sample, the figure saying their payroll is unchanged increased from 31% to 38%, but on a small sample. We’ll keep monitoring – but on this occasion as the sample size was unusually low, it’s too early to state a finding with confidence.
If our responses accurately suggest that there is less confidence in on-site donations and memberships, the future focus for public-focused heritage leaders will include diversifying revenue streams, reviewing pricing strategies for different visitor segments, developing secondary spend opportunities and exploring new partnerships.
Weathering the weather
Earlier this year the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed a new metric to quantify the impact of climate change – the number of “outdoor days” where outdoor temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold for people to go about normal outdoor activities, and where there is no or little rain.
The model predicts that by 2100 the UK will have 18 – 40 more ‘outdoor days’ per year, extending the length of the peak season at its beginning and end:
In the here and now, just over a third of respondents to the latest pulse said the weather in 2024 had been somewhat or very challenging to their operations and finances.
How is weather affecting your organisation? Can you give any additional insight into what is happening with payroll costs and earned income? Share your experience by commenting below.
