Important milestone for Te Papa
16 Dec 2008
New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa in Wellington has notched up 15 million visitors since opening 10 years ago.
Visitors have averaged 1.3 million per year since the museum doors first opened on February 14, 1998 and Te Papa says high visitor numbers reflect the museum's popularity and broad appeal.
To date, 9.2 million of the visits have been made by New Zealanders and 5.8 million by people from overseas.
Popular appeal
Visitor surveys also show that Te Papa attracts a broader audience than usual with younger visitors and more Māori, Pacific Island, and male visitors than traditionally recorded at New Zealand museums in the past.
Chief executive Dr Seddon Bennington said Te Papa continued to reach out both nationally and internationally.
"Our Whales Tohorā exhibition is currently showing in Washington DC and the colossal squid continues to generate international attention through our online exhibition and blog," said Dr Bennington.
Short-term exhibitions
Te Papa says an important aspect of its success is the varied short-term exhibition programme.
Satisfaction with the Te Papa experience has also remained high, with 97% of visitors reporting that they were satisfied with their visit in 2007/2008, and 26% giving Te Papa a rating of 10/10.
Te Papa reports that 86% of New Zealand visitors say they will revisit in the next 12 months, and 99% said they would recommend Te Papa to others.
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