Shannon,

Standards and benchmarks are helpful in some cases, but the costs of
developing and mounting exhibitions varies so widely, as do the scale and
attendance expectations of museums, that I don't believe there is a
true industry standard for the ratio you are looking for. For example, a
$500,000 exhibition might be intended to serve 50,000 visitors at one
museum ($10 cost per visitor), and 500,000 visitors at another ($1 per
visitor).

Every museum would need to decide what the cost per visitor is worth to
them.

If it is a pure business proposition (as in wanting to create an attraction
that will pay for itself through admissions income, or a traveling
exhibition that you want to generate more income through rentals than cost
of producing and maintain, then you might need to use more complex
budgeting formulas). You could start with price point and work backwards,
but I would start with vision and objective for audience and
institution and then figure out what the costs would be to meet those
mission-based goals.

For planning purposes, you might extrapolate some helpful guidance from
ASTC's Statistics Analysis Package, a helpful compilation of financial,
attendance and other data from museums in 2012.

Good luck!
Paul



On Thu, Apr 3, 2014 at 11:02 AM, Shannon Bailey <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Good Morning!
>
> Is there a industry standard regarding the cost a museum should spend per
> visitor for an exhibition?
>
> Thanks!
>
>
>
> *Shannon Bailey Chief Curator*
>
> World Chess Hall of Fame
> 4652 Maryland Avenue
> Saint Louis, MO 63108
> W: 314.367.WCHF (9243) ext. 103
> C: 314.578.2922
> F: 314.367.7501
> [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
> www.worldchesshof.org
>
> www.facebook.com/WorldChessHOF
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link:
> http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1
>

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).