Berlin, 26 March 2010 More than three-quarters of visitors to Berlin museums are tourists. This is confirmed by the latest results of the “Kulmon” study. Since December 2008 it has systematically interviewed visitors to twelve Berlin museums and theatres. Last year 76.2% of the interviewed visitors to museums were tourists in Berlin, 33.7% of them from abroad.

The front runner amongst the institutions covered is the Jewish Museum Berlin with a tourist share of 89.8% (55.1% from abroad, 34.7% from Germany), closely followed by Charlottenburg Palace with 85.7% (50.9% from abroad, 34.8% from Germany). The Berlin opera houses, the State Ballet Berlin and the Friedrichstadtpalast are also popular amongst visitors to the metropolis on the river Spree. 41.3% were visitors to Berlin, 9.6% from abroad and 31.7% from Germany. The Staatsoper Unter den Linden chalked up the highest proportion of tourists of 43.5% (14.6% from abroad, 28.9% from Germany).

“The results of the visitor monitoring document in black and white just how popular the Berlin theatres and museums are with tourists” says Burkhard Kieker, CEO of Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH (BTM). “Culture and tourism are in a win-win situation here. Visitors come to Berlin because of culture and hotels love them because culture tourists stay the longest.”

State Secretary for Culture André Schmitz: “The figures prove once again that Berlin has one trump card in particular that it can play on the national and international stage: its artists and its magnificent cultural treasure trove. These figures also underpin the fact that support for culture constitutes an important and meaningful investment in the future of the city.”

So far the Deutsches Historisches Museum, the Gemäldegalerie (Art Gallery), the Jewish Museum Berlin, the Naturkundemuseum (Natural History Museum), Neues Museum, Pergamon Museum, Charlottenburg Palace, the three Berlin opera houses, the State Ballet Berlin and Friedrichstadtpalast have taken part in the Berlin visitor monitoring. From 1 April 2010 they will be joined by nine other institutions: Konzerthaus Berlin, Philharmonie, Rundfunk Orchester und Chöre GmbH, Komödie and Theater am Kurfürstendamm, Maxim Gorki Theater, Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin, DDR Museum (GDR Museum), Museums Dahlem and Nikolaikirche (Nikolai Church). On 1 May 2010 the circle of participants will be extended to include three memorials: the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Stiftung Berliner Mauer (Berlin Wall Foundation) and Topography of Terror.

The cultural study will be conducted at least up to the end of 2011 and is a joint initiative of the Berlin Cultural Administration and Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH in cooperation with the Centre for Audience Development at the Free University Berlin. The project is financed from special funds of the tourist-based cultural marketing campaign of Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH, from contributions of the cultural institutions and from ERDF funds from the cultural administration’s programme “Promotion of innovation potential in culture (INP)”.

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