The April 2025 results from the Association for Cultural Enterprises’ Commercial Performance Barometer have been published, and four months into the year we are starting to see some clear trends emerging. This is the only place you can see immediate visitor and commercial performance together, in an easy to use dashboard.
Book onto our next free webinar on 23rd September, to get the full analysis of activity after the summer holidays. Were visitor numbers strong? Did people spend? Was the Great British Weather positive or negative for your region and your venue?
The key findings this month are:
- Admissions for April are +10% on 2024, nudging year-to-date figures above 2024
- The picture is not uniform across the cultural sector
- Catering remains strong but retail is sluggish
- Commercial exhibitions and events are driving venues’ (commercial) success
Admissions for April +10% on 2024
After three consecutive months of drops vs. 2024, April is the first month where we can report a significant increase in admission. In fact, such was the success of April, year-to-date figures now sit slightly above 2024, turning around the negative start to the year. With record storms, a condensed half-term and a later Easter between January and March, it’s possible that the gloomy picture we saw in Q1 was circumstantial, rather than a sign of things to come.
The picture is not uniform across the cultural sector
As always, averages only tell part of the story. For all of the overall success of April, 47% of venues described their April as ‘poor’ or ‘just OK’, and 35% indicated that admissions were either down or the same as in 2024. More specifically, ‘indoor sites’ were just 1% up on April 2024 (outdoor venues 14% up), following a March where they were down 8% – the Easter sunshine clearly more beneficial for outdoor venues. For indoor venues there was no ‘April turnaround’ and the year-to-date picture will remain negative. Warm weather is clearly a double-edged sword.
Catering is strong but retail is sluggish
Catering at visitor attractions appears to be in a good place – ATV, SPV and overall revenue all above inflation compared to 2024. There are less positive signs for retail however – March and April reporting below inflation ATV and SPV. This suggests that whilst visitors are still attending cultural venues, they may be cutting back on non-essential spending when there.
Commercial exhibitions and events are driving venues’ (commercial) success
Exhibitions and events appear central to venues’ commercial success, in particular those that lend themselves to strong secondary spend – The Cartoon Museum’s ‘Cats in Cartoons’ exhibition a great example. In these difficult times, venues may want to test the commercial potential of an exhibition, before proceeding.
Diverse and new experiences are also driving commercial revenue. Roman Baths’ recent murder mystery and silent disco events, and the Old Royal Naval College’s outdoor market great examples of this.
Finally, a note to the wonderful Foundling Museum that has significantly increased its venue hire income through a series of interventions that includes (amongst other things) a venue hire rebrand, increased day hire options, an affordable evening offer and a flexible closure policy.
Where to find out more
Members can learn much more via the Association’s online dashboard where you can look by sub-group and merge months. The Association has now had more than 200 sites contribute to the Barometer (April was our best month yet), and is looking forward to continuing to grow this service in the coming months. Members can expect the latest survey invite on the first Monday of each month, and don’t forget to visit the dashboard in the members areas.
Book onto our next free webinar on 23rd September, to get the full analysis of activity after the summer holidays.
For more information about the Monthly Commercial Performance Barometer service from the Association for Cultural Enterprises sign in to your account on our website and then head to this page – or contact info@culturalenterprises.org.uk.
