task 2. museums
Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 2:03 pm
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Many museums charge for admission while others are free.
Do you think the advantages of charging people for admission to museums outweigh the disadvantages?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Tickets need to be bought to visit some museums whereas other museums allow entry for free. Making visitors pay some amount of money helps support the running of museums. Nevertheless, I feel the disadvantages of this practice outweigh the benefits as charging money results in a decline in the number of visitors, that in turn defeats the purpose of having museums, which is to promote culture and tradition of a nation.
To begin with, the main purpose of introducing admission fees is to make the museum financially self-sufficient. However, it has been observed time and again that museums are not able to generate enough revenue to support their finances despite charging for entry. For instance, the ticket of Chhauni Museum, the largest museum of Nepal, costs about a dollar, but in spite of that, the government of Nepal has to contribute around 70 to 75% of the annual budget of the museum. Thus, if authorities have to pay for the running of the museums even after having the provision of admission fees in place, it fails to achieve the primary objective of charging people in the first place.
On top of not achieving the desired goal, entry fees decrease the number of visitors and consequently reduce the ability of museums to promote local culture. The number of visitors to Swayambhu Museum, for example, dropped by nearly 35% after the rule of paying an entry fee was introduced. Given that the idea behind constructing museums is to promote the local heritage by making the visitors aware of them, a decline in the number of annual visitors would annul the primary objective of museums.
In conclusion, having an entry fee in place, in fact, does not help significantly in meeting the operational costs. At the same time, the accompanying drop in the number of visitors means that these institutions would be less effective at promoting the traditional values and historical artefacts. Therefore, it would be desirable if the entry to all museums were made free so that a larger number of tourists and locals can enjoy and understand the native culture and tradition.
Write about the following topic:
Many museums charge for admission while others are free.
Do you think the advantages of charging people for admission to museums outweigh the disadvantages?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Tickets need to be bought to visit some museums whereas other museums allow entry for free. Making visitors pay some amount of money helps support the running of museums. Nevertheless, I feel the disadvantages of this practice outweigh the benefits as charging money results in a decline in the number of visitors, that in turn defeats the purpose of having museums, which is to promote culture and tradition of a nation.
To begin with, the main purpose of introducing admission fees is to make the museum financially self-sufficient. However, it has been observed time and again that museums are not able to generate enough revenue to support their finances despite charging for entry. For instance, the ticket of Chhauni Museum, the largest museum of Nepal, costs about a dollar, but in spite of that, the government of Nepal has to contribute around 70 to 75% of the annual budget of the museum. Thus, if authorities have to pay for the running of the museums even after having the provision of admission fees in place, it fails to achieve the primary objective of charging people in the first place.
On top of not achieving the desired goal, entry fees decrease the number of visitors and consequently reduce the ability of museums to promote local culture. The number of visitors to Swayambhu Museum, for example, dropped by nearly 35% after the rule of paying an entry fee was introduced. Given that the idea behind constructing museums is to promote the local heritage by making the visitors aware of them, a decline in the number of annual visitors would annul the primary objective of museums.
In conclusion, having an entry fee in place, in fact, does not help significantly in meeting the operational costs. At the same time, the accompanying drop in the number of visitors means that these institutions would be less effective at promoting the traditional values and historical artefacts. Therefore, it would be desirable if the entry to all museums were made free so that a larger number of tourists and locals can enjoy and understand the native culture and tradition.