The National Museum in the red despite doubled entrance fee

National MuseumOslo. National Museum.Photo: wikipedia.org

A doubling of entrance fees coupled with good visitor numbers were not enough to avoid red figures in the accounts of the National Museum.

One of the last outgoing Manager  Audun Eckhoff does before he leaves the National Museum, is to hand over a defecit of NOK 12.6 million, Aftenposten writes.

Last year the museum had revenues of NOK 314 million. 288 of these – almost 92 percent – being state subsidies.

The deficit is down from  NOK 19 million in 2015.

In 2015 the explanation was a new pensions plan. In 2016, purchases of art for a total of 17 million, is the main cause for the deficit.

– The deficit was planned as a good buying opportunity for artwork emerged. The result will therefore have no impact on the offer to the public this year or the next, CEO Audun Eckhoff writes in an email.

In October 2015 ticket prices were doubled, which contributed to that the total ticket revenue last year doubled from 7 million to 14 million. Just over 650,000 visited the museum, which Eckhoff describes as very good numbers.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today