The Ministry of Culture and Communication announces the conclusions of the study,
carried out by the Research Centre for the Study and Observation of Living Conditions
(CREDOC) at the request of the Department of Public Affairs of the
heritage: the taste of visiting museums, exhibitions and monuments is now
shared by a very large majority of our fellow citizens, but with intensity and
areas of interest. The study also identifies two levers for
this taste and its diversification: tariff policy and the uses of digital.

A broader audience for heritage places
In 2011, 61% of French people visited a museum, an exhibition, a monument or a site
history. The most common destinations are religious monuments, palaces and
castles, cities and countries of art and history and museums and exhibitions in the field
art. Then there are museums and exhibition spaces dedicated to art
contemporary, photography or history and archaeology, but also buildings
contemporary architecture, prehistoric caves and archaeological sites, houses
of famous men and women. Finally, museums and exhibitions dedicated to
and civilizations, science and technology, architecture, design and the arts
as well as industrial sites and places of memory (battlefields,
memorials) form a slightly less visited group.

A broader sociological profile
When we aggregate the entire heritage public and take an interest in its sociology, it
shows that 57% of employees, 44% of workers, 44% of low income (less than 1200€
per month and per person) and 42% of the non graduates are in the category of
visitors. In other words, access to heritage places is much broader than it is
was in the recent past.

The impact of tariff policies on the “occasional” audience
25% of French people say they have given up visiting an exhibition, museum or
monument in the year because of the award. Their profile is specific: it is that of an audience
“occasional” or “infrequent visitor” who is still often reluctant to walk through a
establishment of which he is not familiar unless encouraged by a tariff schedule
generous.

Digital Heritage Places Tour
The Internet is playing an increasingly important role in the preparation and implementation of
heritage visits: 35% of our citizens used it to find information
convenient, book their entrance ticket, take a virtual tour, download content or
still talk about the visit on an online social network.

Modalities of the study
The survey was conducted “face-to-face” between December 2011 and January 2012, with a
sample of 2,003 people, representing the French population aged 18 and
and selected according to the quota method.

The full study is available at the link below:
http://www.credoc.en/ pdf/Rapp/R281.pdf

See: Régis Bigot, Emilie Daudey, Sandra Hoibian and Jörg Müller, Visiting museums, exhibitions and exhibitions
monuments, Reports Collection, CREDOC, no. 281, June 2012.