Museums, Zoos & Parks Industry Overview

Excerpt from Museums, Zoos & Parks Report

Companies in this industry operate museums, historical sites, zoos, botanical gardens, parks and other institutions focused on preservation and exhibiting works of cultural significance. Major US institutions include the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Diego Zoo, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Competitive Landscape

Demand is partly linked to growth in local income and to tourist travel. The profitability of individual institutions depends largely on good marketing. Large institutions have the advantage of name recognition. Small institutions can compete successfully by concentrating on specialty topics, or by operating in a favorable location. The industry is fragmented: the top 50 institutions account for about 35 percent of revenue.

Products, Operations & Technology

Museums account for about 70 percent of industry revenue; zoos and botanical gardens together generate about 20 percent. For the industry as a whole, about 40 percent of revenue comes from contributions and grants from private and government sources; investment income accounts for another 10 percent. Other sources of revenue include admission fees (about 30 percent) and sales of food and merchandise (10 percent). Among individual institutions, the revenue mix can vary significantly. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for example, gets only about 15 percent of its revenue from admissions.