Museum visitors numbers up but Olympia’s take a dive

Visitor numbers to Dundee’s museums have shot up in the past year but fewer swimmers are going for a splash in the Olympia pool.

The city’s museums experienced a 6% rise in visits, with culture vultures favouring the McManus.

In the nine months leading up to December 31, there were 1,678 visits to museums per 1,000 population, compared to 1,582 in the same period the previous year.

From April to December, there were 3,091 visits per 1,000 population to all swimming pools in Dundee, a decline of 6% from 2013.

Stewart Murdoch, director of Leisure and Culture Dundee, said: “We are delighted at the performance of Dundee’s museums, and in particular the McManus.”

“The visitor figures often depend on what exhibitions are on at that particular time.

“You also get variations with swimming pool visitor numbers. For example if it’s a warm summer people go to the beach instead.”

At the moment the figures are right at the top of what’s expected at normal operating level.