Visitor orientation and its impact on the financial situation of cultural institutions in Germany

In Germany, the financing of cultural activities is heavily dependent on state funding. About 90% of cultural funding comes from the public sector. However, because of the precarious state of public finances, funding for cultural activities has been steadily reduced in the last years. Against this background, German cultural institutions are essentially compelled to develop appropriate measures in order to improve their competitive situation in the context of scarce public resources, and to seek additional sources of finance in order to stabilise their situation over the longer term. One of the more suitable means of increasing revenue on an ongoing basis, is to improve and extend the marketing and visitor-related activities themselves. But how should the marketing or visitor orientation be formulated so that it contributes towards the organisation's social mission as well as improves the financial position of the cultural institution? With respect to the particular financing situation of German cultural institutions, this paper will try to give an answer to this question. Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.