Featured in this report: Culture, heritage & leisure
At its core, the report highlights both encouraging and challenging trends. While headline figures show growth in engagement among many adult age groups visiting museums and galleries over the past year, the increase is not evenly felt. Younger adults – particularly those under 25 – are not returning to pre-pandemic levels of cultural participation at the same pace as older cohorts, raising important questions about future audience pipelines.
The analysis also digs deeper into patterns of participation across diverse population groups. It reveals that engagement varies substantially between ethnic groups and that differences in physical and digital participation are significant – underscoring the need for tailored outreach strategies that reflect real-world audience behaviours and barriers.
Beyond headline metrics, the report offers practical implications for sector professionals. DJS Research emphasises the importance of life-cycle approaches to audience development, building long-term relationships grounded in trust, relevance and emotional connection to cultural offerings. It also highlights how physical and digital engagement should be seen as mutually reinforcing rather than separate workstreams.
Whether you’re a museum director, heritage manager, or cultural strategist, this report provides evidence-based insight and clear direction for action to sustain and grow engagement in today’s rapidly evolving landscape. Download the full report to explore the data, interpretation and recommendations in depth.
Find out more about our market research experience in the culture, heritage and leisure sector.
