The Museum Tourism in Bucharest Romania
The Museum Tourism in Bucharest Romania
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Elena BOGAN
lecturer PhD., “University of Bucharest” Romania, [email protected]
Dana Maria (OPREA) CONSTANTIN
lecturer PhD., “University of Bucharest”, Romania, [email protected]
Elena GRIGORE
assistant PhD., “University of Buchares” Romania, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
The museum tourism or the museum itself is an alternative at both socio-cultural and economic level. The impact the museum has
on the society is becoming more and more noticed, with major differences between the museum tourism consumers and the others
who do not like the idea or ignore the process.
Bucharest is one of the most important areas in Romania, and it can also become a point of attraction at the level of the European
continent. Thus, it is necessary to be aware of the expectations of the museum tourism consumers in order to meet the expectations
of the visitors. The purpose of this research is based on the following needs: to find out some general characteristics of the museum
tourism consumer, but also certain special features related to the intensity of the visits made in the museum, the time interval that the
consumer gives to a visit, its motivations of visiting museums and the satisfaction of the services offered and of the information
received in the respective institution.
KEYWORDS
Museum tourism, museum, visitor perception, tourism behavior, Bucharest
INTRODUCTION
The museum tourism is a category of the cultural and heritage tourism and is more and more equated with "museum experiences"
(Guðbrandur, 2004), being considered the concept of a phenomenon that does not involve strict visitation and enrichment
information, but also feelings, emotions, states that the visitor tries, he is aware of, experimenting various types of learning from a
qualitative and quantitative point of view. The museum tourism is that form of tourism, an integral part of the cultural tourism, which,
firstly, represents the visits made by the tourists at the museum. The functions, objectives and the object of the museum, the
promotion policies and the museum programs, as well as the contribution of the museum activity to the economy of a region are a
complex of measures that can directly influence the number of visitors and the image which a museum achieves during a long time
(Mitrache, 2012).
According to some authors, the most common definition of the museum can be "an institution that serves the collection, preservation,
interpretation and exposure of the material culture of a society" (Tufts and Milne, 1999). The British Museum Association
characterizes the museum as "the space that collects, gathers documents, preserves, exhibits and interprets material records and
the associated information for the benefit of the public" (Heumann, 2002). The American Museum Association describes the
museum as "a non-profit, organized and permanent institution with educational and aesthetic goals, with a specialized staff who
owns and uses tangible objects, which they protect and expose to the public on a regular basis, according to a program" (Genoways
and Ireland, 2003).
The objectives or functions of a museum (figure 1) are mentioned in various specialized articles, both European and American.
Zoreda Caballero believes that there are five important functions of a museum: "to preserve and protect; to invent and catalog; to
investigate; to create, expose and communicate; to educate" (Zoreda Caballero, 1980), while the Dutch museologist Peter van
Mensch has simplified them to three functions, namely, "to preserve, to study and to communicate" (Culley, 2010). Nowadays, the
conservation and the research are considered traditional objectives, and those that have priority are the exposure and the education
of the visitors (van Aalst and Boogaarts, 2002, Culley, 2010). This is also due to the evolution of the idea of a museum, which is a
reflection of the society and to some extent, embraces its aims and desires, but also the idea of "limiting the financial resources"
(Anderson, 2005), a reality which prevents the institutions to give the necessary attention to all the functions that the museum has.
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The museum is regarded as a leisure destination, but the main purpose that museum tourism should have is the continuous
revitalization and adaptation to the market requirements so that there might be a balance between culture, leisure and the value of
the cultural heritage" (Simion et al., 2009). It is necessary for the museums to participate in the improvement of the visitors' cultural
experiences, to facilitate and improve the offer of the tourist services and the museum activities.
The museum tourism relies on the existence of some large and famous museums that attract thousands of visitors every year.
Besides these, there are also valuable memorial houses in which great painters, sculptors, scientists, architects, writers etc. Have
lived and created. The great museums are the expression of gathering of a very large volume of exhibits of unique value for the
contemporary culture and civilization. Thus, the Louvre Museum in Paris, the British Museum, the London Wax Museum, the
Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Prada Museum in Madrid, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Maya Civilization
Museum in Mexico City, the Egyptian Museum of Archeology in Cairo, and others are places which attract tourists throughout the
whole year. An important place have the open-air museums, usually the ethnographic ones, located on the suburbs of the major
urban centers (Bucharest, St. Petersburg, Beijing, Sydney etc.).
The distinction between the cultural tourism and the museum tourism focuses on the purpose and the objective of the journey. The
museums are an integral part of the cultural tourism, which is, in turn, an integral part of the urban tourism (Müller, 2005) (figure 2).
Visitors are, in the case of the museum tourism, representatives of the middle class, who take quick initiatives to travel to the urban
areas, the main objective being the desire to learn and live new experiences. New categories of tourists have emerged as a result of
a more diversified lifestyle (Bogan and Cândea, 2013).
The urban tourism (the city with cultural support – architecture, UNESCO World Heritage)
The cultural tourism and the artistic events (theatres, concert halls, operas, cabaret,
theatre festivals, music festivals, classic dance and contemporary dance festivals
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The evolution of the museums in Bucharest is characterized by an ascendant tendency after the collapse of the communist regime,
when the culture has gained other meanings, and the museums have begun to expose not only works of art, but also valuable works
that have been hidden from the eyes of the public until that time.
Although we have previously stated that there are 59 museums in the city of Bucharest, this number also includes religious
collections and memorial houses. In the figure no. 4 is shown only the evolution of the museum institutions in the most strict sense of
the word, referring to the museums that can be visited. Causes can be both economic and administrative, either because of the
restoration, many museums are getting modern and are trying to meet the needs of the public or of the museum tourism consumers.
no. museums
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Source: INS
Figure 4. The evolution of the number of museums in Bucharest (1994-2016)
The evolution of the number of employees in the period 2011-2016 (figure 5) shows the insufficiency of the specialized staff,
because many employees act as caregivers, supervisors or guards. It is true that the national or the most important museums in the
city have qualified staff, quite complex in numbers, but in the case of the small or medium sized ones, there is some specialized
staff. The evolution of the number of museum visitors in Bucharest for the period 2005-2016 (figure 6) shows a fluctuation, from 2005
to 2009, one can notice alternative increases and decreases, so that from 2009 until 2016, there was an increase of visitors from
1,069,526 in 2009 to 1,692,842 in 2016.
no. employees no. visitors
1600 1800000
1600000
1550
1400000
1500 1200000
1000000
1450
800000
1400 600000
400000
1350
200000
1300 0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Source: INS
Figure 5. The evolution of the number Figure 6. The evolution of the number
of the museum staff (2011-2016) of the museum visitors (2005-2014)
The museum tourism has become an important category of the cultural tourism in the recent years, as it can also be noticed for the
events that include this type of tourism, one of which is ’The Night of Museums’ (Dumbrăveanu et al., 2014). The Night of Museums
Event 2017, organized every year in Bucharest as well, has reached its 13th edition. ’The Night of Museums’ is an annual event,
generally scheduled in May, which includes some museums in the capital within the night tour of museums. It attracts many visitors,
a proof being the front queues in front of the national museums each year. Free entry and prolonged schedule are the main reasons
for attracting visitors, many of whom consider this event a museum marketing product.
Another big event is the one called "A Different School". The "A Different School" educational program is carried out each year, the
educational institutions collaborating with the museums, realizing various programs, especially designed for students during a week.
The students are receptive, this active learning method being more liked by the students, as this event wants to promote the
interactive ways of working with them.
Starting 2017, the bus line 362 of the Bucharest Autonomous Transport Administration (RATB) - operates as the Cultural Line of the
Museums in Bucharest. The route includes 30 museums in Bucharest. The price of a ticket is 1.30 lei, just like a trip on a regular
RATB line, and it is valid for one day, regardless the number of climbs and downs to different museums where tickets are paid
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separately. On the cultural buses, there are leaflets printed in Romanian and English, with a brief description of the tourist
attractions, and the audio presentation of the 30 museums is also included in the cultural route.
The programs and services offered to the visitors are varied, from simple museum experience to creative workshops for young
people, performances of performing arts.
The ascendant, beneficial evolution in the recent years can be attributed to the cultural, exhibition and scientific programs and
projects which the museums have carried out in order to attract not only visitors but also to educate them, to inspire them the desire
to know, to relax and to cultivate them. The accent must be put on the initiatives of the local communities, the realization and control
of the projects and the programs belonging to the local actors (Cândea and Bogan, 2009).
2. METHODOLOGY
The purpose of this research is based on the following needs: to find some general characteristics of the museum tourism consumer,
but also certain special features, related to the intensity of the visits made in the museum. In order to achieve the above goal, the
research aims to identify the potential tourists, namely visitors, establishing the visitors 'motivation to visit the museums, the
satisfaction of visitors to the services / facilities offered, the degree of visitors' satisfaction with the information received in the
museums from Bucharest.
In order to achieve these objectives, a questionnaire with different types of questions was developed, being applied to a sample of
360 visitors / tourists. The research took place between August-September 2017, within the following museums: "Dimitrie Gusti"
National Museum of Village, "Grigore Antipa" National Museum of Natural History, The National Museum of Romanian Peasant, The
National History Museum of Romania, The National Art Museum of Romania and The Bucharest Museum.
This study did not target a certain group, the respondents being different in gender, age, studies, civil status, monthly income,
motivations, various concerns, precisely because the heterogeneity of the data obtained generates a set of responses able to outline
different and relevant aspects about the museum and the museum tourism in general.
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The respondents had four variants of answers, choosing several versions of the ones presented. Thus, most visitors agree to the
"family" option (figure 8), with a very small difference being the variant "with 1-2 persons" and "lonely". We can say that the majority,
about 85%, prefer the first three variants, while 15% resonate with the fourth variant.
25% 40%
35%
20%
30%
15% 25%
20%
10%
15%
5% 10%
5%
0%
Once at more Very rarely/ Rarely/ once at Once at 2-3 Often/ monthly Very often/ 0%
than 12 months once at 7-12 4-6 months months Weekly alone/ together with 1-2 in family in group
months persons
Figure no. 7. The intensity of the visits at museum Figure no. 8. The way to visit the museum
The reasons why people visit museums vary according to time and space, aspirations, personality, education etc. In table 1, there
are shown the main reasons why a person would visit a museum.
The way the visitors find out about the existence of a museum or the exhibitions, conferences and the programs developed depends
greatly on the fact that, depending on these responses, certain measures can be adopted to exploit more or less a promotion
environment. The most popular are the museum website - 23% and the internet - 21%, followed by the knowledge or friends - 18%
and the museum visit - 17% (figure 9). The last three places include TV / radio with 10%, posters / newspapers with 8% and another
broadcasting - 3%.
other way
posters/newspapers
TV/radio
visit at musem
friends
internet
Figure 9. The way the people find out about the existance of a museum
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The duration of a visit to the museum may vary depending on the visitor's needs, time and patience. This kind of data have their role
when it comes to knowing how much time a visitor spends at a museum, so the museum can change its policies in the future in order
to create another degree of the comfort for the visitor so that the visitor may spend more time in the museum during a visit.
Most of the respondents voted either for the 60-90 minutes spent in the museum - 30% or for 2-3 hours - 22%, followed by the
intervals of 91-120 minutes - 15%, the one for 3-4 hours - 14% and 13% for those who spend less than 60 minutes in a museum
during a visit (figure 10). The respondents who spend more than 4 hours sum up 6% of the total and their main reason is that they
have a job in the field.
The purpose of the question "How satisfied are you with the services / facilities offered by the museums in Bucharest?" is to find out
how satisfied the visitors are with the museum services and the museum in general, in order to help them, creating a framework
tailored to the needs of the museum tourism consumers. Thus, 40% of the respondents are very satisfied, and 28% are relatively
satisfied. It is very concerning that several percentages have the categories of the few satisfied - 15% and not at all satisfied - 10%,
compared to the very satisfied ones - 7% (figure 11). Therefore, the museum management should focus on the wishes of the visitors,
creating more facilities that they can benefit from.
6% 10% 7%
13%
14% < 60 mins
very pleased
60-90 mins 15%
mostly pleased
91-120 mins
relatively pleased
30% 2-3 hours 40%
22% less pleased
3-4 hours
not pleased
>4 hours 28%
15%
Figure 10. The duration of a visit at the museum Figure 11. The degree of visitors' satisfaction with the services
provided by the museums in Bucharest
The question "How satisfied are you with the information you receive in the museums?" is to set the starting point for the change of
management, marketing and promotion policies, generating answers that can be useful both to the management of the museum
institution and to the specialized staff, to the museum guide, curator etc. 31% of the respondents believe that the information
received in museums is not at the level of expectations, 29% said the information is curiosity, 22% of the information received is at
the level of expectations, and 7% consider it is enough. A small number of respondents say that the information provided in the
museums in Bucharest exceeds expectations - 6% of the respondents and 5% think that there is too much information (figure 12).
Figure 12. The degree of visitors' satisfaction with the information provided in the museums in Bucharest
"What improvements do you think museums should bring to meet the needs of visitors?" This is one of the most important questions,
since only through the subjective views of those who visit, a set of ideas and appreciations can be outlined in order to make real
visible improvements for the museum and for the museum tourism.
Unfortunately, some respondents did not answer this question, but those who responded may contribute to improve both the
museum's visitor conditions and the degree of promotion. 39% of the respondents refused to answer, 17% chose the variant, they do
not know what improvements should be made to the museums and only 44% had different answers, depending on their own needs,
desires, expectations.
Depending on the visitors' responses, the museums should make the following improvements:
on the structure of the building - spaces to highlight the collections, restoration;
on the programs, the museum exhibitions - varied educational programs, more free, diverse exhibitions, more exciting,
better organized, creative workshops, affordable educational programs, improved ways to attract pupils and students, more
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audio-guides, combining the art museums with other types of arts - performing arts, not only in some annual events, but in
general more free entry conferences, more exhibitions with objects in the warehouse;
from the cultural point of view - promoting some national, European, cultural, moral values; paying attention to minorities,
diversity and emphasis on interculturality;
on the museum staff - qualified staff, focused on the needs of the visitors, smiling, better explanations from the museum
guide;
on promotion - a better promotion, at national and international level, various promotion media - posters, radio,
appearances in several written press;
on museum policies - a restructuring policy, lower fees, prolonged schedule, adequate management of the current
situation, more facilities, services, better business conditions, better marketing, applied creativity;
from the economic point of view - private investments and from a legislative point of view - different legislation;
In the modern tourism, certain quality standards are imposed, which must be obeyed so that the satisfaction degree of the tourist be
positive and make the tourist want to return to the destination (Bogan et al., 2017).
Taking into account the rather high number of museums in Bucharest, the potential of the museum tourism can be exploited in such
a way that this segment of cultural, urban and heritage tourism might be developed; if it fails to rise to high standards in a few years,
at least to follow the management and marketing policies that might build, sustain and highlight the sustainable development. In the
present case, the situation requires time, annual investments and qualified staff, whose involvement is, in the long run, also a
prospect that seems viable.
CONCLUSIONS
The museum tourism in Bucharest requires more attention, as the museum is at the interference of the cultural, economic, political
and social media, and can play its role on everyone. This is only possible if one realizes the importance of turning the museum into a
more dynamic, interactive and responsive space for the visitors' needs.
The visitors' opinions, resulting from the sociological survey, support the idea that the museum system must undergo a restructuring.
Renovations are required both at the building level and also at the concept, organization, image and promotion level etc. And the
efficiency of the services should be priority, so that the museum actually should play an active role in the society; the museum must
not be considered a space connected to leisure, but an essential space for the discovery of the unknown by play, through dynamism
and interactive cultural and educational activities.
The current management problems of the public museums in Bucharest originate in everything that the society represents, both in
the past and in the present, as the museum is a cultural institution that should adapt to the requests and needs of the society it takes
part; as long as it does not adapt, there will be problems that will generate other negative effects in the short or long term, affecting
the image of not only the museum itself but the image of what the museum, the culture and why not, the tourism represent in the
respective society, but also at national and global level.
Paying attention to the interest of tourists and their satisfaction with what this type of tourism offers, we believe that the development
of the museum tourism in Bucharest should continue to be a priority for both the government and the local authorities, but a more
intense promotion could attract even more visitors / tourists, with an emphasis on the external visitors / tourists.
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