Many museums charge for admission while others are free. Do you think the advantages of charging people for admission to museums outweigh the disadvantages?

Many museums charge for admission while others are free. Do you think the advantages of charging people for admission to museums outweigh the disadvantages? 

Nowadays, people have to pay entrance fees for visiting some of the museums. A lobby believes that this practice has umpteen benefits, while others disagree. This essay shall elucidate both the viewpoints and try to come to a conclusion.

The most prominent benefit afforded by charging access fees is that it helps generate revenue that can be used for the maintenance and upkeep of museums, thereby reducing the government expenditure on such facilities, and indirectly benefiting the taxpayers by keeping the tax burden low. It further aids in attracting only serious connoisseurs who are keenly interested in what these places have to offer and who appreciate the value and significance of the artifacts displayed there. It also acts as a deterrent for unruly elements by preventing them from entering the premises and using it for various nefarious activities. This has been corroborated by a recent survey where the paid museums consistently ranked above free museums in terms of cleanliness and safety due to absence of crimes like pickpocketing, making it prudent for authorities to levy entry fees.

On the contrary, the critics argue that such policies dissuade curious youngsters, due to the prohibitive costs involved, from learning about the culturally and historically significant events one can glean on museum tours. It also prevents the local schools from arranging the field trips, denying the students the opportunity to expand on the knowledge gained from their curriculum. Thus, a large portion of the population is deprived of opportunities to become familiar with nostalgia, defeating the purpose for these institutions

Overall, even though there are certain pitfalls of imposing entry charges, I believe the benefits eclipse them overwhelmingly, and the former can be easily overcome by providing discounts to the target groups.

Many museums charge for admission while others are free. Do you think the advantages of charging people for admission to museums outweigh the disadvantages? - Ielts Essay

Many museums charge for admission while others are free. Do you think the advantages of charging people for admission to museums outweigh the disadvantages?

Ielts Essay - Many museums charge for admission while others are free

Museums, in many countries, levy access fee from visitors; it is considered to be quite unjustified by many. I, however, feel that museums should be allowed to impose entrance charges, as its benefits easily exceed drawbacks of such a practice.

Charging entry fee from the visitors seems to be fully justified, since these facilities are repositories of wisdom and culture of any society: that store sculptures, manuscripts, books and arte-facts connected to the past of a society. These specimen need to be subjected to regular restoration and salvation process, which of course need expensive treatments. As government grants are quite inconsistent and irregular, taking some money from visiting individuals seems to be the only way that can help generate a regular revenues.

Apart from that, access fee makes it easy for the museum authorities to generate more revenues for ongoing and future enhancements and expansions. Archeological excavations and additions to the cultural experiences are ongoing processes that keep churning out new specimen at regular intervals. The museums need to make these new arrivals available for public display that of course need more space. Such an endeavor cannot be afforded unless a huge investment is made.

However, detractors of admission fee to these archives vehemently defend their viewpoint. They feel that museums are meant  to introduce a local community to the world, and charging entry fee from the visitors would defeat the whole purpose, since people would keep away from such locations and go somewhere else to entertain – presuming the fact that museums act as venues of entertainment.   

Henceforth, after assessing both the pros and cons of entry levies at museums, I am convinced that museums should be allowed to collect entry charges, as the benefits of charging entry outstrip drawbacks by miles.