(New York, December 3, 2007) – National, regional, and foreign tourists visiting The Metropolitan Museum of Art's recently opened New Greek and Roman Galleries so far have spent a combined $567 million during their visits to New York City as of November 20, according to a Museum audience survey released today. Using the standard ratios for calculating tax revenue impact, the direct tax benefit to New York City and New York State from these visitors in the seven months since the galleries opened is estimated at $56.7 million.
Emily K. Rafferty, President of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, noted: "As this most recent survey demonstrates, the Metropolitan Museum proudly maintains its role as a premier tourist destination, generating major revenue for the City and State through its programs and exhibitions. In the case of these permanent galleries, this is a gift to New York that will keep on giving."
The culmination of a 15-year plan to redesign and reinstall an entire wing of the Museum devoted to the art of classical antiquity, the spacious new galleries – with their soaring two-story atrium, the Leon Levy and Shelby White Court – opened this past April 20. This landmark capital project, which more than doubled the space available for ancient Greek, Roman, and Hellenistic art, totaled $218 million in capital spending.
In the period covered by the survey, the New Greek and Roman Galleries attracted more than 764,000 visitors (or an average of more than 4,000 visitors per day). More than three-quarters of these visitors were found to have traveled to New York from outside the City's five boroughs and spent a total of $567 million in the City on lodging, food, shopping, entertainment, and related expenses during their stay. Their revenue impact is measured among those who listed the new galleries as a motivating factor for their visit to New York.
The economic development impact on the City does not directly benefit the Museum itself, which maintains a policy of not imposing extra admission fees on visitors to special exhibitions or specific galleries. Visitor access to all of the Museum's galleries, including exhibitions, is free with Museum admission.
Using a scale of 1 to 10 to determine how important the Met was in their decision to come to New York, 41% of the out-of-town visitors gave a rating of 8 or above (with 1 representing not at all important and 10 representing very important) to visiting the Met and its exhibitions. A significant number specifically cited the opening of the New Greek and Roman Galleries as a motivation for their visit. The economic impact for just this group is $232 million, yielding a tax benefit of $23.2 million.
Thirty-two percent of the Museum's out-of-town visitors are international, which is higher than the 17% average for New York City, and international visitors account for a disproportionate share of the economic benefit as they typically spend more and stay longer.
The survey of the New Greek and Roman Galleries is the most recent of a series of audience studies undertaken regularly by the Metropolitan to measure the economic impact of the Museum and its programs. Visitors to the concurrent showing of the exhibitions Americans in Paris, 1860-1900 and Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde in spring 2007 were found to have generated more than $377 million in economic impact. Taken together with the findings for the New Greek and Roman Galleries, the three surveys conducted in 2007 demonstrated an economic impact of $944 million.
The latest economic impact survey was conducted by the Museum's Visitor Services Department/Office of Market Research, with analysis provided by Karin Grafström, Market Research Manager.
Americans in Paris, 1860-1900 was made possible by Bank of America. Additional support was provided by the Marguerite and Frank A. Cosgrove Fund. The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery, London, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in association with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. It was supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde was made possible by The Florence Gould Foundation. Education programs were made possible by The Georges Lurcy Charitable and Educational Trust. The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, and the Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Paris.
December 3, 2007
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