(New York, May 31, 2007) – The Metropolitan Museum's concurrent presentation of two acclaimed and widely attended exhibitions in the fall 2006/winter 2007 season – Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde and Americans in Paris, 1860-1900 – generated $377 million in spending by regional, national, and foreign tourists to New York, according to a visitor survey the Museum released today. Using the industry standard for calculating tax revenue impact, the study found that the direct tax benefit to the City and State from out-of-town visitors to the Museum totaled some $37.7 million. (Study findings attached.)
Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde, on view at the Metropolitan from September 14, 2006, through January 7, 2007, attracted 490,002 visitors. Americans in Paris, 1860-1900, shown from October 24, 2006, through January 28, 2007, attracted 311,700 visitors.
The survey found that 74% of the visitors traveled from outside the five boroughs of New York. Of these, 30% were from the Greater New York Metropolitan Area, 46% were from other states and 24% were international visitors. Sixty-four percent of travelers reported staying overnight in the City, and two-thirds of these visitors stayed in a hotel or motel. The median length of stay in the City was 4.1 nights.
These visitors reported spending an average $575 on expenses for lodging, dining, sightseeing, entertainment, and admission to other museums, and another $282 on shopping, during their stay in New York. Less than one in four reported making a first visit to the Museum, and almost one in three planned their visit well in advance (more than a month prior to traveling).
The economic development impact on the City does not directly benefit the Museum, which maintains a policy of welcoming visitors to special exhibitions without imposing extra fees. All exhibitions are free with the Museum's suggested admission.
Emily K. Rafferty, President of the Metropolitan Museum, noted: "We are delighted to report the Met's continued prominence in drawing visitors to New York, thereby generating important revenues for the City and the State. Once again, this demonstrates that culture is central to tourism in our region."
The survey of visitors to Cézanne to Picasso and Americans in Paris is the most recent of a series of audience studies undertaken by the Metropolitan over the years to calculate the public economic impact of its special exhibition program. In 2004, for example, the Museum reported that its El Greco retrospective had generated $345 million in economic impact, and in 2000 found that visitors to Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids had generated some $307 million. A 1997 assessment estimated the economic impact of its exhibition The Glory of Byzantium at $184 million.
Using a scale of 1 to 10 to determine how important seeing one or both of the exhibitions was in their decision to visit New York City, 32% of visitors surveyed in the study gave a rating of 8 or higher. Forty-five percent gave a rating of 8 or higher to visiting the Metropolitan Museum in general. The economic impact is estimated to be $120 million for just those individuals who indicated that seeing the exhibitions was important in their decision to visit New York City and $171 million for those who wanted to see the Museum in general, yielding tax benefits of $12 and $17.1 million respectively.
The latest economic development survey was conducted by the Museum's Visitor Services Department/Office of Market Research, with analysis provided by Karin Grafström, Market Research Manager.
Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde was the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to Ambroise Vollard (1867-1939) – the pioneer dealer, patron, and publisher who played a key role in promoting and shaping the careers of many of the leading artists during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. On view were some 100 paintings as well as dozens of ceramics, sculpture, prints, and livres d'artistes commissioned and published by Vollard.
The exhibition 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.
The landmark exhibition Americans in Paris, 1860-1900 featured some 100 oil paintings by 37 Americans whose accomplishments represent the breadth of artistic activity in late 19th-century Paris, from painters who were aligned with vanguard tendencies – particularly Impressionism – to those who espoused the academic principles that many American patrons favored.
The exhibition was made possible by Bank of America.
Additional support was provided by the Marguerite and Frank A. Cosgrove Jr. 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.
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May 31, 2007
Results of Visitor Survey
Cézanne to Picasso and Americans in Paris Exhibitions
November, 2006
A survey of visitors to two fall special exhibitions at The Metropolitan Museum of Art demonstrates that visitor spending by individuals from out of town generated $377 million of economic activity and provided an estimated direct tax benefit to New York City and State of $37.7 million.
652 visitors were surveyed in November, 2006, when two special exhibitions – Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of Avant-Garde and Americans in Paris, 1860-1900 – were on view.
Key findings
• 490,002 people saw Cézanne to Picasso and 311,700 saw Americans in Paris. Eliminating double counts for those who saw both, an estimated 594,000 unique visitors saw one or both exhibitions.
• The vast majority of The Met's visitors are from out of town. Almost three-quarters (74%) of visitors surveyed were from outside the five boroughs of New York City.
• Of the out-of-town visitors, 30% were from the Greater New York Metropolitan area, 46% from other US states, and 24% were international. International visitors on average spend more and stay longer than domestic visitors.
• Almost two-thirds (64%) of the out-of-town visitors stayed overnight in the City, and the median length of stay was 4.1 nights. Two-thirds of these stayed in a hotel.
• Out-of-town visitors reported spending on average $575 on expenses and another $282 on shopping during their visit to New York, yielding an estimated $377 million in spending by visitors to the exhibitions. Using an estimate of a 10% tax rate on spending (combining sales and hotel taxes), the tax benefit for New York City and State would be roughly $37.7 million.
• During their stay in NYC, visitors participated in many other cultural activities: 57% visited other museums, 39% saw a Broadway show, and 16% attended an opera, ballet, or concert.
• 45% of the out-of-town visitors reported that their visit to The Met was a determining factor in their decision to visit New York. Out-of-town visitors were asked how important seeing the Cézanne to Picasso and
• Americans in Paris exhibitions, and visiting the Met in general, were to their decision to visit New York City. Using a 1 (not at all important) to 10 (very important) scale, 32% of visitors gave a rating of 8 or above with regard to the exhibitions, and 45% gave a rating of 8 or above to visiting The Met in general.
• Using just those individuals who said the exhibitions or the Museum were highly important in their visiting decision, the visitor spending estimate would be $120 million (for the exhibitions) or $171 million (for the Museum in general). These figures would yield tax benefit estimates of $12 million and $17 million respectively.
• Almost one in three (30%) made their plans to visit the Met over a month earlier.
• Less than one in four (21%) said it was their first visit. One third are frequent visitors, coming at least 4 times a year.
• The median age for visitors surveyed was 55, with 31% over 65. As is typical for the Met, visitors are highly educated, with almost half (48%) holding a master's degree or higher. Met visitors also have high incomes; the median reported income was $62,000 and 30% had income over $100,000.
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