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Geotours app: connecting the geoparks of the Atlantic Coast

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Geotours app: connecting the geoparks of the Atlantic Coast

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Born to bring digital life to the most surprising landscapes of the Atlantic coast Geotours App is the latest mobile application developed by GVAM to promote European Atlantic geotourism in collaboration with the European Atlantic Geotourism Route (EAGR). With the aim of promoting and disseminating the geological and cultural heritage of the Atlantic Geoparks, Geotours App unifies in a single application a total of 11 impressive geoparks of the European Atlantic coast.

You can download it here: IOS and Android

Geoparks are territories with great geological relevance, full of biodiversity and with a unique nature that directly influence the people and cultures that inhabit them. Geotours App allows to explore these geoparks through a mobile application fully developed by GVAM together with an intuitive content management system so that each geopark can create and manage their routes quickly and easily.

Geoparks of the App : a transnational route

The geoparks included in the app allow you to take a tour through the European Atlantic coast: from Ireland and the United Kingdom we travel along the coasts of France, Spain and Portugal, even visiting the islands of Lanzarote (Spain) and Azores (Portugal). A total of 11 UNESCO Global Geoparks in a single application:

Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark (Ireland)

Copper Coast Geopark (Ireland)

Marble Arch Cave Global Geopark (Northern Ireland)

Fforest Fawr UNESCO Global Geopark (Wales)

AONB North Pennines (England)

Arouca Geopark (Portugal)

Azores UNESCO Global Geopark (Portugal)

Armorique Geopark (France)

Basque Coast Geopark - Vasque Coast (Spain)

Valles de Cantabria Geopark Project (Spain)

Lanzarote Geopark and Chinijo Archipelago (Spain)

Technological and functional features

The mobile application responds to the needs of the technicians of each geopark and achieves the objective of offering an intuitive interface for users. The main uniqueness of Geotours App lies in its functionality and stands out for the following technologies developed from GVAM:

1.- Attractive and modern graphic image: The entire graphic image has been created in line with the visual elements of the European Atlantic Geotourism Route project and each of the geoparks sections according to their corporate image identity.

2.- Content management system (CMS) adapted to each geopark: GVAM has implemented its Ventour CMS technology system so that each geopark can manage and update content and tours independently and without the need of programming knowledge.

3.- Innovative AR system: Users can also find their way around the geopark through an augmented reality system that shows the different POIs (points of interest on the map) to visit. This technology makes it possible to identify points of interest in the landscape through the mobile camera and allows with a simple click to obtain information about the different visible POIs, and even easily find the route to the location.

4.- Mapeado y geolocalización: se ha creado para cada geoparque un sistema de mapeo y localización de puntos de interés paisajístico, cultural o geológico. De este modo, a través del sistema GPS y la localización de los POIs (puntos de interés en el mapa) los usuarios pueden visitar el geoparque conociendo su posición y la de las localizaciones de interés en tiempo real.

4.- Mapping and geolocation: a system for mapping and locating points of scenic, cultural or geological interest has been created for each geopark. In this way, through the GPS system and the location of the POIs, users can visit the geopark knowing their position and that of the locations of interest in real time.

5.- Gamification of the routes: Visiting the geoparks becomes a fun and participatory experience with numerous game elements and rewards that challenge users, among others:

POIs hidden within AR elements where little-known places are discovered or secrets are found.

Quiz type games to test the visitor's knowledge.

Interaction with images to discover other hidden multimedia content.

Treasure hunt of illustrations and 3D objects located in the different routes of the geopark with which the user can create their own collection: a perfect activity to challenge visitors to explore every corner of the geopark.

A medal system for expert visitors who complete all the tours offered by the geopark in the mobile application: a powerful formula to increase user engagement.

With these technological features, the routes become a complete experience where interaction merges with the geological heritage. All in a single free application available in up to 6 languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Welsh and Basque.

Are you visiting a geopark on the Atlantic coast? The application is now available for download on iOS and Android devices. Let the route begin!

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Geotours App: connecting the geoparks of the Atlantic coast - GVAM

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Born to bring digital life to the most surprising landscapes of the Atlantic coast Geotours App is the latest mobile application developed by GVAM to promote European Atlantic geotourism in collaboration with the European Atlantic Geotourism Route (EAGR).

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When the world reopens, will art museums still be there?

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When the world reopens, will art museums still be there?

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In early March of 2020, sculptor and video artist Andrea Stanislav had planned a quick couple of days in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to prepare for a fall exhibition, a road-trip stop between her job as a professor in Indiana and her home studio in New York City. She had a few chats scheduled at the Mattress Factory, the contemporary art museum where she was scheduled to be an artist-in-residence later in the year.

But on March 13, in the middle of her first business meeting, Stanislav became an artist-in-desperate-residence at the museum, which fills several 1900s industrial buildings with works by Yayoi Kusama and light-alchemist James Turrell. COVID-19 was closing in.

"It was 11 a.m. All of a sudden, in the meeting, people were grabbing their phones, their eyes darting around. It was clear something was happening," she said. "Finally, they said, 'if you want to do research on any of the other museums, you need to do it today'' "

"I went on a marathon tour to the Heinz Center, the Carnegie museums, the Warhol. I had a vodka tonic after that to calm my nerves," said Stanislav. "We were fast descending into a world of the unknown."

The next day, museums and other cultural institutions in Pittsburgh and around the world went dark. Stanislav ended up living for months at an artists' apartment the Mattress Factory maintains, a sojourn that radically changed the focus of her installation. She became one of the thousands of artists and staffers in museums, galleries, and exhibition halls who realized how a pandemic could impact everything.

The year 2020 has been a time of crisis, innovation, anxiety, and introspection for all businesses, especially museums. Large galleries in cities with reliable international tourism found travel bans near ly ruinous to their business models. Smaller regional museums discovered a surprising upside as their institutions emerged as symbols of good, collaborative creativity in their communities. Here's how some of America's showplaces are coping with the challenges wrought by COVID-19.

Innovations born of necessity

Some museums have seen a new wave of interest from locals or residents of nearby cities. "People are experiencing museums in their own backyards," said Colleen Dilenschneider, chief market engagement officer at Impacts Experience, a research firm measuring consumer behavior among 224 U.S. cultural and museum sites. "People are wanting to take day trips."

Nearly every museum in the country has upped its digital offerings with online exhibits, curator video chats, and virtual kids' activities. Many are also re-thinking their reach and collections in a time of accelerated technological change and turmoil in the U.S., debating how racial and social injustice are reflected in their art.

For instance, in December 2020, Maryland's Baltimore Museum of Art announced it would only acquire works by female artists in the coming fiscal year. As part of a larger response to issues surfaced by the Black Lives Matter protests, the New Orleans Museum of Art closed its Greenwood Parlour, an 1850s plantation interior that many thought glorified slave owners.

From a practical, COVID-fighting standpoint, directors and staffers have become versed in the mechanics of their workplaces, including ventilation and airborne virus transmission. Such knowledge tipped many institutions to open back up in the summer with safety precautions (masks, social distancing) and to close down again when coronavirus infections surged in November.

"With decision-making, we are trying to be as clear, fair, and transparent as we can. Everyone was looking at the infection rate and knew it was a matter of when, not if we closed again," said Hayley Haldeman, the Mattress Factory's interim executive director. "It's a double-edged sword, both sides blunt and painful. There's not much more we can do in 2020."

Reopening in 2021 will certainly be easier, with exhibitions like Stanislav's now set for spring.

No museum has escaped uncertainty and questions of survival due to the pandemic's closures and plunges in revenue. This spring, the International Council of Museums surveyed museums in 106 countries about the effects of the pandemic, finding that more than 80 percent of them expected to reduce programming and 10 percent might permanently close.

Dips and spikes in virus cases meant galleries in London, Paris, and Rome reopened at the start of summer and closed again in the fall during new lockdowns. In the U.S., the American Alliance of Museums found that a third of the 850 museums surveyed were still shuttered in October and more than 10 percent were worried about never reopening. In some smaller U.S. cities, the crisis has spurred museum directors to spearhead broad and creative efforts to survive.

Take Pittsburgh, a city of 300,000 people, which has 50 museums and cultural centers, a legacy of its industrial wealth in the early 20th century. Steven Knapp, the new executive of the four Carnegie Museums, started February 1, just weeks before a government-mandated shutdown hit Pennsylvania.

During the early days of the pandemic, Knapp and leaders from other local institutions ( Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, the August Wilson African American Cultural Center) jumped on twice-a-month Zoom calls to hammer out safety standards and reopening protocols.

"For a city of its size, Pittsburgh is one of the richest cultural cities in the nation. We wanted people to come back and to feel they had a good experience," said Knapp. This meant that, when museums began letting tourists back in during the summer, there were social-distancing stickers on the floors, guards enforcing mask wearing, and, at most venues, timed-entry tickets.

The safety measures resulted in Pittsburgh museums scoring higher participation rates than those at national museums. "In July we were seeing a quarter of the normal flow. Now we are seeing 40 to 50 percent and are up to 80 percent of the participation of last year," said Knapp. "It's just been a question of managing the flow and keeping those one-way traffic patterns."

In Ohio, the Toledo Museum of Art-with its impressive modern and Renaissance works-has seen a surge in first-time visitors during the pandemic. Why? "It's something normal, a way of getting out of the house," said Director Adam M. Levine. He believes museum-goers are seeking entertainment, encouragement, and lessons in how others have endured hard times in the past.

Museums, adapting to hard times

Museums have a wide range of business models, some relying heavily on endowments, others on admission fees or special event rentals. Many don't expect their revenues to rebound to 2019 levels for at least another year. But some museums supported by local taxes or large endowments have less dire financial futures.

Even where museums aren't threatened with extinction or program cuts, they've been disrupted by the pandemic. The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM), open since 1879 in the Missouri river city, had to revamp its exhibition schedule as international lenders became reluctant to send treasures overseas without assurances of how and when their art would or could come home. Its curators decided to "work with what we have," said spokesman Matthew Hathaway. This resulted in Storm of Progress, an exhibit of 120 pieces by German artists drawn from SLAM's holdings.

"We pride ourselves on having a German collection that could stand up to any outside Germany," said Hathaway. "It has a direct connection to our community and culture. It became obvious what we could do." The resulting show stars works including painter Max Beckmann's 1917 paean to non-violence, Christ and the Sinner, and Sigmar Polke's wry diagrams.

"Museums are looking at their own collections and thinking: 'How do we play this is a way that we hadn't thought of before?'" Hathaway said.

The pandemic as a creative catalyst

In Pittsburgh, Stanislav found that COVID-19 took her art in a new direction.

During her residency, she had planned to film the region's rivers and forested hills with a drone, exploring Pennsylvania's natural landscape.

But after spending months on the city's North Side, walking streets where mill laborers once lived and watching neighbors play violin or sing from their stoops, she refocused her work on the local community. Stanislav, whose ancestors came from Prague, began exploring the city's immigrant population and considering the biological and manmade plagues it has survived.

After discovering the Tamburitzans, a Croatian folkloric dance troupe affiliated with local Duquesne University, Stanislav decided to use movement to delve into Pittsburgh's immigrant experience. She filmed the troupe in action at the Carrie Blast Furnaces, a National Historic Landmark holding towering ruins from Pittsburgh's 19th- and early 20th-century steel industry.

Fears over the virus and rain delayed some shoots. "I spent a lot of time there," Stanislav said. "That gave the project a way to percolate and form directly into the time we are living in."

On a sunny day in early November, Stanislav met with a dozen masked dancers wearing embroidered robes and felt hats. Some of them had great-grandfathers who once toiled in the fiery warrens of the steel plant. Most knew of the trying conditions there, and how and why laborers rose up in protest over 12-hour shifts and low wages in the late 1890s. The Homestead Strike, a bloody 1892 conflict between steelworkers and a company-run militia, left at least 10 people on both sides dead and many more injured, making this hallowed ground still.

As Stanislav filmed, the dancers began to twirl in ever-faster circles amid the rusting metal hulks, summoning an eerie danse macabre. Then, a white horse appeared. A single dancer mounted it and rode away.

"It turned into an homage to their ancestors," Stanislav said. "We had to stop and take in the beauty and the moment. It was a release for everyone and a metaphor that dance is a way to be seen and to remain human."

Christine Spolar is a London-based writer whose work has also appeared in The Washington Post andThe Atlantic. Follow her onTwitter.

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When the world reopens, will art museums still be there?

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In early March of 2020, sculptor and video artist Andrea Stanislav had planned a quick couple of days in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to prepare for a fall exhibition, a road-trip stop between her job as a professor in Indiana and her home studio in New York City.

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Follow-up survey on the impactof the COVID-19 pandemic onmuseums in Europe

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Follow-up survey on the impactof the COVID-19 pandemic onmuseums in Europe

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UNWTO and CNN partner for global #restarttourism campaign

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UNWTO and CNN partner for global #restarttourism campaign

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After partnering back in May for a campaign asking the world to be patient, responsible and "travel tomorrow", the World Tourism Organization and CNN International Commercial (CNNIC) have teamed up again to celebrate the transformative power being unleased as the restart of tourism gets underway. Centred around a 45-second film launched today and broadcast exclusively on CNN International until January 2021, this message will reach millions of households. The campaign affirms UNWTO as the unifying voice behind the global restart of tourism while harnessing the influence and prestige of the CNN brand to reach global audiences at scale.

The # RestartTourism video highlights tourism's unique ability to adapt and innovate and generate opportunities for sustainable development. CNNlC has long committed to these same values and the partnership between UNWTO and CNN is further strengthened through this broadcast.

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: "The restart of tourism brings new hope and new opportunity for millions around the world. We are proud to be working again with CNN to send such a positive and inspiring message. Tourism has the power to bring us back together, giving us unforgettable experiences while also supporting jobs, helping businesses and protecting culture and our natural heritage."

The restart of tourism brings new hope and new opportunity for millions around the world. We are proud to be working again with CNN to send such a positive and inspiring message

Rani Raad, President, CNN Worldwide Commercial, said: "As part of our long-standing partnership with the UNWTO, CNN is proud to beam this message of travelling again and restarting tourism into over 300 million households around the world. Whilst Travel & Tourism has suffered an enormous impact in 2020, we are standing with our partners, providing counsel and supporting their efforts as they now plan ahead to welcoming travellers back in 2021 with a sense of hope, growth and reconstruction for the sector."

Launched today, #RestartTourism will be aired regularly until 10 January 2021, bringing this message to more than 310 million households across CNN's feeds to Asia, South Asia and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa). It will also be amplified by UNWTO's own media channels, as well as those of its Members in every global region, reinforcing a message of positivity at the end of a challenging year.

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UNWTO and CNN Partner for Global #RestartTourism Campaign

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
After partnering back in May for a campaign asking the world to be patient, responsible and "travel tomorrow", the World Tourism Organization and CNN International Commercial (CNNIC) have teamed up again to celebrate the transformative power being unleased as the restart of tourism gets underway.

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Defining the museum in times of change: a way forward

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Defining the museum in times of change: a way forward

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¿Cómo se accede al webinar? Gisela - 2020/12/02 14:28

The webinar will start in 40 minutes. Le webinaire commence en 40 minutes. The webinar starts in 40 minutes. Secretariat - 2020/12/10 13:22 Si desea hacer una pregunta, póngase en contacto con el Presidente de su Comité Nacional o Internacional, Alianza Regional u Organización Afiliada, quien la transmitirá a los oradores. If you have a question, please contact your National or International Committee, Regional Alliance or Affiliated Organization President, who will pass it on to the speakers. Si vous avez une question, veuillez contacter le président de votre Comité National ou International, Alliance Régionale ou Organisation Affiliée, qui la transmettra aux intervenants. ICOM Secretariat - 2020/12/10 13:51 Icom Italy Adele Maresca Compagna - 2020/12/10 14:03 Museo Arqueologico Musa Bogotá Angélica Patricia Córdoba Alvarado - 2020/12/10 14:01 Curitiba-Pr.- Museu de Arte Indígena Gabardo - 2020/12/10 13:40 Giuliana Ericani - ICOM Italy- Icom Europe Giuliana Ericani ICOM Itay ICOM Europe - 2020/12/10 14:09 ICOFOM Yun Shun Susie CHUNG - 2020/12/10 14:09 Goedemiddag Pascal Mathieu Dilbeek - 2020/12/10 14:09 Si desea hacer una pregunta, póngase en contacto con el Presidente de su Comité Nacional o Internacional, Alianza Regional u Organización Afiliada, quien la transmitirá a los oradores. ICOM Secretariat - 2020/12/10 14:09 Si vous avez une question, veuillez contacter le président de votre Comité National ou International, Alliance Régionale ou Organisation Affiliée, qui la transmettra aux intervenants. ICOM Secretariat - 2020/12/10 14:09 If you have a question, please contact your National or International Committee, Regional Alliance or Affiliated Organization President, who will pass it on to the speakers. ICOM Secretariat - 2020/12/10 14:09 Hallo to everyone from Rome fulvia STRANO - 2020/12/10 14:12 Hello from Canada David Dean - 2020/12/10 14:13 Se escucha y ve perfectamente. Enhorabuena y gracias. Antonio Bouza @MuseosAndaluces (canal no oficial) - 2020/12/10 14:19 Buen dia y saludos Teresa Villegas Aneiva - 2020/12/10 14:21 Hallo from Florence, Italy. From the Uffizi Gallery Hallo from Florence, Italy. From the Uffizi Gallery - 2020/12/10 14:23 Hallo from Florence, Italy. From the Uffizi Gallery. Silvia Mascalchi Hallo from Florence, Italy. From the Uffizi Gallery. Silvia Mascalchi - 2020/12/10 14:26 I just checked the Member space - I miss there some contatc, where members can send their informations or proposals. Please add an email. Thanks. Martina Lehmannova - 2020/12/10 14:26

Please can you precise the dates in the methodology material? The collecting of proposals shall end in april and in april shall also start the analysis - so both processes will be held in the same time? Martina Lehmannova - 2020/12/10 14:33

Museu Escolar CIEP 241 Naçaõ Mangueirense - RJ/ Marcela Sanches. Problematizar sobre o Museu em tempos de crise humanitária é extremamente importante e disputa de narrativas. Obrigada pelas palestras! Marcela - 2020/12/10 14:36 Se piensa hacer un glosario con las palabras claves que se identifiquen en la Fase 1 de Consulta? Do you plan to make a glossary with the keywords identified in the Consultation Phase 1? PAOLA ARAIZA, CECA ICOM MEXICO - 2020/12/10 14:45

Thanks so much for this clear and very inspiring presentation! Mariska ter Horst (from the Netherlands) - 2020/12/10 14:48 I am not a member of ICOM can I still get access to the material? Yonca Erkan - 2020/12/10 14:48 Hello from Seoul, South Korea! Thanks for sharing this wonderful plan and I look forward to the new definition!! Best regards! Jisoo Kim - 2020/12/10 14:55 museus são diversos, impossivel o Icom priorizar somente uma definição. Os museus têm que se verem da forma como são, do que tem e como interagem com as tecnologias, saberes e pessoas. Parabenizamos a iniciativa da metodologia e devemos contribuir com as reflexões, tendências e definições. Fórum de Museus de Base Comunitária da Amazonia. - 2020/12/10 14:54 Please precise the dates at the presentation - instead of "April" precise April 1st or April 30th. Now the timeline is little bit chaotic. Thanks. Martina Lehmannova - 2020/12/10 14:56

Muchas gracias por posibilitar este encuentro. Silvana Lovay - Coordinadora Regional CECA América Latina y el Caribe - 2020/12/10 15:03 Es necesario un cambio total de la definición o simplemente una actualización, porque hubo muchos cambios y también en la visión y en la misión del Museo Eva Guelbert de Rosenthal - 2020/12/10 15:05 Pero, la definición misma actualizada exige AMPLIAR esos valores clave. Así se actualizaría. Si no, se repetirá lo mismo de definiciones anteriores. Fernando Almarza Risquez - 2020/12/10 15:05 La definición ya no es la que tenemos hoy ni la que se trató en Kioto y no acordamos. Hoy más que nunca hay otros temas altamente sensibles que circundan al museo y su rol social en un momento tan complejo. Silvana Lovay - Coordinadora Regional CECA América Latina y el Caribe - 2020/12/10 15:15 Thank you for your explanation and for time. Have a good afternoon. FS fulvia STRANO - 2020/12/10 15:16 In ICOM Czech Republic we tried to analyse the self-definitions of our most important museums, how they defined the purpose of their existence when they were founded, and it bring us many interesting information. Martina Lehmannova - 2020/12/10 15:23 Gracias Lilian y Bruno! Silvana Lovay - Coordinadora Regional CECA América Latina y el Caribe - 2020/12/10 15:17 I would like to know the history of the term "conservation of the artifact" or "object conservation " Quyen Hoang - 2020/12/10 15:23 Will there be a recording of this presentation available? Ivana Goossen - 2020/12/10 15:21

How should museums respond differently now that the Anthropocene is here? Emlyn Koster - 2020/12/10 13:59 Roles of museums differ from one another. I am hoping that new museum definition will be accepted by each and every member from all over the world. Kenji Saotome - 2020/12/10 15:24 entiendo que se está sugiriendo la existencia de más de una definici´n, dependiendo de las regiones. Es así? Raquel Pontet, Uruguay - 2020/12/10 15:18 Do you will send us some kind of methodologies to guide commiittees on their discussions? Mila Chiovatto - 2020/12/10 15:23 Me parece que lo que propone Bruno es muy positivo, es importante abarcar la máyor cantidad posible, porque en Amércia Latina es parte de nuestra legislación la actual definición. Entiendo que se debe actualizar, peor sin quitar ni educación ni Institución permanente. Eva Guelbert de Rosenthal - 2020/12/10 15:33 Thanks for this webinar ! Sandra Zapata from Canada - 2020/12/10 15:44 Thank you for the efforts! Phaedra (ICOM NATHIST) - 2020/12/10 15:45 Felicitaciones por la claridad y compromiso. Eduardo Ugarte ICOM Perú - 2020/12/10 15:46 Bernarda Delgado. CECA PERÚ. Gracias por esta importante reunion Bernarda Delgado. CECA PERÚ. - 2020/12/10 15:48 Thank you very much for your effort, Alberto, Lauran, Bruno and many other! Kenji Saotome - 2020/12/10 15:50

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Defining the museum in times of change: a way forward

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¿Cómo se accede al webinar? Gisela - 2020/12/02 14:28 The webinar will start in 40 minutes. Le webinaire commence en 40 minutes. The webinar starts in 40 minutes. Secretariat - 2020/12/10 13:22 Si desea hacer una pregunta, póngase en contacto con el Presidente de su Comité Nacional o Internacional, Alianza Regional u Organización Afiliada, quien la transmitirá a los oradores.

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MAPFRE foundation begins the digital transformation of its audio guide service

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MAPFRE foundation begins the digital transformation of its audio guide service

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Cultural institutions are beginning to advance in the modernization of services and processes, with the aim of offering the greatest value to the visitor experience and adapting to the new challenges caused by the post-COVID era.

This week the Fundación MAPFRE, together with GVAM, presents its new intelligent guidance solution, supported by both interactive audio guides and a new Progressive Web Application (PWA) in order to facilitate access to the exhibition content in a simple way and individualized.

Progressive Web Applications or PWAs under GVAM technology allow access to a digital audio guide from any mobile browser and their appearance is fully adapted to the screen. Its most attractive feature for users is that it emulates 100% the intuitive navigation of an App, but without downloads or installations. In this way, with a simple click on the link, button or with a unique access code provided at the entrance of the cultural centers, visitors access the PWA from the browser of their own terminals.

This represents a great step in the digital transformation of audio guides that also includes the physical loan devices that the visitor will have and other tools in the back office of the service. The current situation has become a crucial moment to establish visitor trust-building strategies and sustainable plans that integrate all elements of the service such as ticketing, staff, groups or audio guides.
A pioneering solution for museums and exhibition halls for painting and photography
The solution designed by GVAM solves an old problem of art museums in terms of implementing multimedia guidance systems. As the Prado did in 2018, the Mapfre Foundation is committed to devices with screens and interactive functions. This time, the GVAM solution goes further by including personalization and monitoring functions that allow to know the experience of the visitors both from physical audio guides and from PWAs for mobile phones.

We also face the challenge of supporting a very intense activity in temporary exhibitions, thanks to GVAM's content management and publishing tools. This work will be carried out, together with the dissemination team of the two Foundation headquarters.

The MAPFRE Foundation headquarters in Madrid has two rooms: the Recoletos 23 room and the Bárbara de Braganza 13 exhibition room. In its more than 1,500 m2, there are exhibitions by established masters of photography and a permanent exhibition with sixty-five five works by Joan Miró and five by Alenxander Calder. For this headquarters, the PWA has texts and phrases in two languages: Spanish and English.

The headquarters in Barcelona called KBr is an exhibition project of continuity, where photography takes center stage. Starting its activity in the new location in the Mapfre Foundation's Tower, the KBr Photography Center dedicates its scope to artistic photography. For KBr, texts and voice-overs have been developed in three languages: Spanish, English and Catalan.

In both venues, text, images, audios, etc. can be added and configured according to the visitor's reading comfort, enlarging and reducing the font size or screen zoom. This tool also allows incorporating the necessary accessibility aids so that people with hearing or visual difficulties, and that they can also enjoy the exhibitions. The PWA offers all the information necessary to carry out a satisfactory visit: schedules, programming, information about the entity, multimedia content, texts, audios, etc.

The content adapts and facilitates the navigation of the PWA according to the spaces to visit, updating itself dynamically through an associated content manager.

Likewise, all data on content usage and consumption metrics are recorded anonymously and interpreted in GVAM's advanced statistics platform. A powerful tool for MAPFRE Foundation as it allows the analysis of the exhibition content itself and the visitor's interest in each of the exhibitions.
Integration of ticketing systems with the PWA
Another problem solved has been that both the PWAs and the GVAM audio guides can be purchased from the Foundation's ticketing platform, allowing more direct and easier access than up to now. The content will only be accessible the same day as the ticket reservation and is automatically configured to the exhibitions of the venues to which the visit will be made, among other improvements that will be integrated shortly.

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MAPFRE Foundation begins the digital transformation of its audio guide service - GVAM

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Cultural institutions are beginning to advance in the modernization of services and processes, with the aim of offering the greatest value to the visitor experience and adapting to the new challenges caused by the post-COVID era. This week the Fundación MAPFRE, together with GVAM, presents its new intelligent guidance solution, supported by both interactive audio ...

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Gaudí’s Palace in Astorga launches the new GVAM interactive guide for schools and families

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Gaudí’s Palace in Astorga launches the new GVAM interactive guide for schools and families

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After the success of the interactive guide accessible to the adult public, the Gaudí Palace in Astorga presented on September 10 its new application for schools and families developed again by GVAM through our G-School solution. This new development allows the cultural institution to bet on the digitization of the experiences of its visitors with new content for the audio guide service.

At GVAM we are aware of the importance of offering attractive and safe school visits from technology and from the effort towards the digital transformation of cultural institutions, maintaining the quality of content for visitors of all ages. From this vision we developed G-School: a virtual platform that seeks to promote new forms of learning and connection between schools and museums through the use of technology. With the interactive guide, Gaudí's Palace joins the new era of school visits, where gamification and technology are protagonists.

How does G-School work?

The operation of the G-School interactive guide is very simple since it allows to connect teachers, students and cultural institutions on the same platform.

Beyond making a contemplative visit, where students pass between room and room to observe the majesty of the Episcopal Palace of Astorga, with this new application, and through tablet devices, visitors can answer questions, play challenges, train teams and interact actively with space. A complete formula to boost learning!

And we are talking about a complete formula because the G-School teaching methodological proposal generates an interactive environment between the students and the institution before, during and after the visit. In addition, the teachers of the educational centers can personalize the visit, select the contents according to the educational level of the students and plan the routes, stopping at the architectural and thematic spaces of interest to the students.

G-School is a powerful learning tool for schools.

With this tool it is possible to capture the attention and maintain the concentration of the students with the activity. A complete system that generates entertainment with games on the explained.
Functionalities and contents of the new application for families of the Astorga Palace

Storytelling based on the Palace proposal: we have personalized the character who accompanies us on the visit with interactive games while making adaptations by training level, tracks and much more.

Interactive group guide: each experience has key content to guide the visit: texts, audios and images allow us to get closer to the Palace.

Audio-guided games: the best way to learn! School visits have fun with games such as find the differences, maybe, match the arrows, puzzles, among others.

Prizes: a points system will be incorporated and, in addition, a cut-out of the Owl may be included in the My Visit solution.

Technical characteristics
The development of G-School allows to have robust technical aspects that translate into usability and accessibility for all the people who use it. Specifically, we talk about the following characteristics:

Simple configuration: A unique entry reservation code (API Clorian) generates a tour for students and an extended version for the teacher.

Adapted school visit: From a profile of the group of students, the route is adapted according to the time of the visit, the educational level or the type of experience.

Preview: with this functionality the teacher can prepare and visualize what the visit will be like during its planning.

Usage analysis: The cultural institution, in this case the Gaudí Palace, will have access to Gstat, where it can analyze the complete analytics. In addition, the interactive guide will show the teacher outstanding results that can be sent by email (My Visit).

Three moments to learn and enjoy with G-School

As we mentioned previously, with the G-School interactive guide, the experience of visiting Gaudí's Palace begins before arriving at the Palace and continues after the visit. Let us know the details of its operation at all times:
Before the visit:
Teachers and students can plan together the visit to the Palace grounds. From the application they select the spaces to visit, the games they will play and the content they want to work on. The personalization of the experience is complete since the school designs and configures the route from the virtual platform.

Specifically, the design of the visit occurs in a four-step dynamic in which the number of students, the duration of the visit, the level and the theme are configured. The teacher can then see a preview of the visit and change it as many times as desired until the day of the visit.
During the visit:
With the participatory methodology offered by the platform, students can play while learning. The guide includes various games: find the differences between the Palace and the images on the screen, solve riddles and puzzles, connect architectural concepts or find secrets of the Palace ..., and many more surprises, including interaction with various animated characters that will make the experience informative as well as entertaining, .

In the case of the Palace, on the day of the visit, the Palace staff gives the tablets to the group of students, with the route already configured. The students are divided into two subgroups to begin the visit and the game. Teachers will have a Tablet with more information and tips to get more out of the visit. A whole different experience for both students and teachers!
After the visit:
One of the most interesting aspects of G-School is that the experience lasts until the return to school or home. Both teachers and parents will receive by email a souvenir of the visit (My Visit), from which they can also check the most viewed content, the scores of the students and each group, etc. A powerful tool for schools to be able to carry out evaluations of results, analyze the content that most impacted students and the interaction in games and prizes.

Educational centers can now enjoy the new interactive guide to Gaudí's Palace where novelty, personalization, challenge, exploration and solving enigmas create a dynamic learning environment. Living culture in a different way is possible with G-School, not only knowing the Palace and its history but also, thanks to the gamification experience, it is possible to learn by experimenting and investigating the why of things.

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Gaudí's Palace in Astorga launches the new GVAM interactive guide for schools and families - GVAM

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After the success of the interactive guide accessible to the adult public, the Gaudí Palace in Astorga presented on September 10 its new application for schools and families developed again by GVAM through our G-School solution. This new development allows the cultural institution to bet on the digitization of the experiences of its visitors with ...

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GVAM and the Gaudi’s Palace in Astorga take part in “Tiqets Awakening Weeks” campaign

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GVAM and the Gaudi’s Palace in Astorga take part in “Tiqets Awakening Weeks” campaign

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In such complicated times as those that the tourism industry is going through, GVAM continues to actively participate in the recovery of the sector by developing its services in the main museums and monuments of Spain ( National Heritage, Alhambra, Seville Cathedra l, Barcelona Cathedral, Camp Nou Experience, Tour Bernabeu, Palau de la Música, among many others). Through innovative technological solutions, we offer tools that allow the modernisation of tourist attractions and a better integration between the Cultural Institution and the visitor, a key element in a situation like the current one.

A highlight are our tools to link the museum's ticketing services with our apps. At GVAM we also take into account the importance of offering different access modes (from the download APP to web based apps such as the PWAs or the audio guide device service offered in the cultural institution facilities), so that online reservation systems can be linked to the choice of the audio guide format that the visitor prefers.

As an example of the efforts being made to move forward, next Thursday, September 10th at 11:30 a.m., we have the opportunity to participate in the free virtual visit to Gaudí's Palace in Astorg a, within the Tiqets Awakening Weeks campaign of Tiqets. In addition to being able to enjoy and get to know this magnificent Palace, we will explain some of the solutions that GVAM has developed for this monument, specifically, our G-School solution for visits by schools and families.

To be able to attend this virtual visit you have to submit and you will receive an email with the details to connect to the visit.
We invite you to join the virtual tour of Gaudí's Palace.

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GVAM AND THE GAUDI'S PALACE IN ASTORGA TAKE PART IN "TIQETS AWAKENING WEEKS"CAMPAIGN

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In such complicated times as those that the tourism industry is going through, GVAM continues to actively participate in the recovery of the sector by developing its services in the main museums and monuments of Spain ( National Heritage, Alhambra, Seville Cathedra l, Barcelona Cathedral, Camp Nou Experience, Tour Bernabeu, Palau de la Música, among many others).

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Coronavirus: UK museums reopening to an uncertain future | 5 News

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Coronavirus: UK museums reopening to an uncertain future | 5 News

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Coronavirus: UK museums reopening to an uncertain future | 5 News

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Museums Are Reopening. But Will They Ever Be the Same?

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Museums Are Reopening. But Will They Ever Be the Same?

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Museums Are Reopening. But Will They Ever Be the Same?

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Science and nature exhibits are rife with buttons to press, touchscreens to swipe, and levers to pull-all the high-touch activities we're meant to be avoiding.

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Manchester museums and galleries - what's reopening and when

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Manchester museums and galleries - what's reopening and when

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(Image: Lee Mawdsley)

From science and industry to natural history and world class art, Manchester has plenty of fun and fascinating museums and galleries to explore.

Lockdown has meant their collections have been behind closed doors since March, and while they were given permission to reopen along with pubs, restaurants and bars on July 4, the vast majority have yet to do so.

Many have now begun to announce their reopening dates and plans, with several returning in time for the school summer holidays.

Here are the reopening plans confirmed to us so far - we'll keep this list updated as more are announced, so bookmark it and keep checking back.

Science and Industry Museum

Based on the site of the oldest surviving passenger railway station, the Science and Industry Museum is perfectly placed to tell the story of the discoveries and innovations made in Manchester that shaped the world as we know it today.

The attraction will welcome visitors back from Friday, August 14, with free, timed tickets available to book up to two weeks in advance from Friday, July 31.

One-way routes will also be in place around the museum to ensure social distancing, as part of new safety measures that will be demonstrated in a video emailed to visitors before their trip.

The first areas to reopen will be the galleries in its New Warehouse building, together with half an acre of outdoor space in the atmospheric, cobbled Upper Yard.

Visitors will be able to explore Manchester's industrial heritage in the Revolution Manchester gallery, and learn more about its role in the cotton industry in the Textiles Gallery.

Science will also be brought to life in front of visitors' eyes in Experiment, and a deeper look at the solar system's biggest wonder can be experienced in The Sun, the blockbuster exhibition that was due to close at the end of March, but will now remain open for a few more months.

Work has now resumed on a multi-million pound restoration project launched before lockdown, which will see a new special exhibition gallery open next year, to originate and host the world's best science exhibitions.

This will be followed by the reopening of the museum's Power Hall.

Sally MacDonald, director at the Science and Industry Museum, said: "We can't wait to welcome visitors back safely.

"Museums are great spaces to reflect during difficult times, so our role is more important than ever. We've been continuing to ignite curiosity with our online collection, science blogs on the pandemic and historical stories throughout lockdown. We've also been delivering science experiences to the nation through our partnership with BBC Bitesize Daily.

"However, there's something really special about visiting a museum in person if you can and, in the Science and Industry Museum's case, standing in a place that has shaped history and the modern world.

"Our story, and those we tell through our collection, are inextricably linked to Manchester's past, present and future. We're determined to play our part in supporting the city's wider recovery and will continue working with our partners to ensure as many people as possible benefit from its varied and vibrant cultural and heritage offer.

"The Science and Industry Museum explores how ideas can change the world, with human ingenuity at the heart of the stories we tell. As we reflect on the changing times we live in, exploring the impact of people whose skills, ideas and dedication continue to shape science and technology has never been more relevant."

The museum will open initially from Wednesday to Sunday, with the usual opening hours of 10am to 5pm. Its collection remains open online for those who are unable to travel. Visit scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk for more information.

National Football Museum

A must-visit for football fans, the popular National Football Museum tells the story of how the sport became the people's game, with exhibits including the first-ever rule book from 1863 and LS Lowry's painting Going To The Match.

The Cathedral Gardens attraction will reopen on Thursday, July 23, and is promising a 'safe and warm reception' to visitors.

It will initially be open Thursday to Sunday, from 11am to 4pm. Online bookings will be encouraged to safely manage visitor flow, and a one-way system will be in place inside.

Tim Desmond, chief executive, said: "We're delighted to reopen the museum and are really looking forward to welcoming visitors. Our team has been working really hard to get the museum safe and ready.

"At a time when the nation cannot get out and experience live football, people can re-live their passion for the beautiful game on our galleries.

"They'll find the museum 100% match fit with the usual fantastic displays, exhibitions and celebration of football as the game of our lives.

"It's been a challenging time for us as a museum and a charity, but we're sure visitors will come out, support us and help us get back on our feet. In return we'll make sure they have a fantastic time and a huge welcome when they visit."

The exhibitions Goal Click: Women's Football in 2019 and Strip! How Football Got Shirty have been extended for visitors to enjoy.

Goal Click takes visitors behind the scenes in the run-up to last year's Women's World Cup through the eyes of the players, while Strip! features more than 200 football shirts, examining designs through the ages.

Curators have also been busy collecting items relating to football's response to coronavirus and the key issues of today during lockdown, including a Wolverhampton Wanderers shirt with the Black Lives Matters message worn by player Jonny Castro Otto in a recent Premiership match.

The museum has also invested in a new projector in its Penalty Shootout, making the experience from 12 yards even more realistic.

Tickets are on sale now at nationalfootballmuseum.com/tickets, priced at £10.50 for adults and £5.50 for children. Family tickets are available for £26.50. Entry is free for people who live in a Manchester City Council postcode (proof of address is required).

Imperial War Museum North

Opened in 2002, the stunning waterside Imperial War Museum North was purpose-built to tell powerful and personal stories from over a century of war.

The Trafford Park attraction will reopen on August 1.

Visitors will be able to explore the permanent displays in the Main Exhibition Space, including refreshed Holocaust and Contemporary Conflict cases which had been only recently completed before lockdown.

Highlights of the museum's collection include author JRR Tolkien's First World War revolver, which he carried with him at the Battle of the Somme; the Field Gun, which fired the first British shell of the First World War; a seven metre-high piece of distorted steel recovered from the wreckage of the World Trade Center following the 9/11 attacks; and the compass of Oliver Philpot, who in 1943 made a famous 'Wooden Horse' escape from Stalag Luft III prisoner of war camp.

IWM North's Big Picture Show, a unique 360° audio-visual experience showcasing IWM's world-renowned collections of photography, art and sound, will also resume from 1 August.

Upcoming events include the Refugees season, which will launch later this year. It includes a creative new exhibition, Aid Workers: Ethics Under Fire, opening on October 2 and focusing on humanitarian organisations working with people forced to leave everything they know behind because of conflict.

Diane Lees, director-general of IWM, said: "The past few months have not been easy, but IWM has navigated its way through the many challenges that this country has faced since we first opened our doors in 1917.

"To ensure that our visitors, staff and volunteers are safe, a number of changes have been made to allow for social distancing at IWM North. However, we have worked tirelessly to guarantee that you will still be able to explore the same displays, collections and stories, and have a fantastic day out.

"We are looking forward to getting back to what we do best, and we hope to welcome you back to IWM North soon."

Entry remains free, but visitors will need to pre-book a time slot online to help with capacity control. Priority booking is open to IWM Members now, and to the general public from Wednesday, July 15.

Visit iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-north for more information.

People's History Museum

Situated in Spinningfields, The People's History Museum takes visitors on a march through time, charting the fight for social equality and democracy over the centuries through the largest collection of political material in Britain.

The attraction is scheduled to reopen on September 1, when visitors will once again be able to explore the two main galleries, see the 2020 Banner Exhibition and discover the recently launched augmented reality (AR) experience exploring radical history makers on strike.

The museum will also continue to shine a light on migration, its headline theme for 2020-21, including its work with the Community Programme Team - six people whose own lives have been shaped by migration.

The museum shop and Left Bank cafe bar will also be open from September, with space available for those who want to bring their own food and drink.

The attraction is usually free to visit, with a suggested donation of £5.

Details of booking procedures and safety measures that will be in place have yet to be confirmed, but management say: "The wellbeing of our staff, volunteers and visitors is our top priority, and PHM is not rushing to reopen until we can do so safely and responsibly."

HOME

First Street arts centre HOME has announced a phased reopening, starting with its cinemas, bars and restaurant on September 4.

Its gallery and theatre programme is set to follow shortly after, with more details to be confirmed over the summer.

Spaces will be redesigned to allow for social distancing, capacity will also be cut and an enhanced cleaning regime will be in place.

Explaining why the cinemas had not reopened from July 4, when the Government granted permission for them to do so, Jon Gilchrist, executive director at HOME, said: "This is not the best option for many independent cinemas like ourselves whose programmes do not focus on the summer blockbusters.

"Instead we want to take the time to ensure that we have time to make the necessary adjustments to the building, and to speak to our audiences about how they can be involved in our plans.

"The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating effect on the cultural sector, and we are lucky that our building allows us the option to open with social distancing in place.

"By opening as soon as it is safe and affordable to do so, we will play our part in the re-opening of the city, the recovery of our communities and the survival of the arts.

"We are planning an amazing programme that will repay our audiences and patrons for the generosity and goodwill they continually show us. And more than anything we miss doing what we do best - bringing great art and audiences together in a welcoming and engaging place."

For those who do not wish to return when it reopens, HOME will continue to produce its series of online commissions, Homemakers.

Dave Moutrey, director and CEO of HOME, said: "Although the future remains uncertain, we're pleased to be able to announce our plans for reopening in September.

"We believe that reflecting the social and cultural landscape of our city and the world is more critical than ever, and HOME plays a huge part in that.

"It was an emotional moment to leave the building after lockdown, and I'm sure it will be an even more emotional one when we return. In the meantime, I'd like to thank our audiences and patrons for their unwavering support, and we look forward to welcoming our audiences and artists back HOME soon."

For more information visit homemcr.org.

Bolton Museum

Bolton Museum is welcoming back visitors from today (Tuesday, July 14).

Visitors can explore all the galleries, including the acclaimed Bolton's Egypt exhibit which features thousands of ancient artefacts and a recreation of the tomb of Thutmose III.

Coun Hilary Fairclough, Bolton Council's cabinet member with responsibility for libraries and museums, said: "There is something for everyone at Bolton Museum and we look forward to welcoming back visitors of all ages.

"Our Egyptology collection is up there with some of the best in the world and our art and natural history galleries are something everyone in Bolton should be proud of.

"Every safety precaution is being taken as we gradually reopen services to the public.

"I'm sure Bolton Museum will once again attract visitors to our area as we seek to recover from the pandemic and create a vibrant and thriving town centre."

Visitor numbers will be restricted, visits will be limited to one hour and some games and interactive displays will remain off limits as part of the attraction's new safety measures.

Hand sanitising stations will be available, a one-way system will be in place, and public toilets will be closed - although the shop will be open.

Museum goers will also be asked to provide their contact details when entering to help with track and trace.

Opening hours will be from 9am to 5pm, Tuesday to Friday, and 10am to 4pm on Saturdays.

The Whitworth

Manchester's 'gallery in the park' is home to an internationally important collection of art, including significant work by William Blake and J.M.W. Turner, as well as hosting an exciting roster of visiting exhibitions and events.

An exact reopening date has yet to be announced but The Whitworth team say they are aiming to welcome back visitors in September.

"Although we're eager to return and can't wait to welcome people back to the gallery, before we reopen we need to put safeguards in place," they said.

"We're working on this process now and following government guidelines to ensure our visitors, staff and volunteers can be safe when we re-open.

"The health and safety of our visitors, staff, and volunteers remain our priority.

"The Whitworth is part of and supported by The University of Manchester, and we'll be re-opening in line with the University's guidelines and working with cultural venues in the city to do this as soon as possible in September. In the meantime, Whitworth Park remains open."

Manchester Art Gallery

This city centre gallery on Mosley Street is home to an outstanding collection of pre-Raphaelite paintings as well as other historic fine art and international contemporary work.

It also contains a treasure trove of craft and design, from ceramics and silver to glass and furniture.

A reopening date has yet to be confirmed but it is expected to welcome visitors back at some point this summer.

"We've very much missed being open and can't wait to welcome people back, but it's important to us that we manage the re-opening in a way that ensures our visitors and staff feel safe," the team said.

"We're looking at how we can begin a phased re-opening of the gallery at some point over the summer.

"We want to get things right and are planning for how we can best do this to ensure gallery goers get the most from their visit when we reopen."

Visit manchesterartgallery.org for the latest updates.

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Manchester museums and galleries confirm reopening dates

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From science and industry to natural history and world class art, Manchester has plenty of fun and fascinating museums and galleries to explore. Lockdown has meant their collections have been behind closed doors since March, and while they were given permission to reopen along with pubs, restaurants and bars on July 4, the vast majority have yet to do so.

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UK CULTURAL SECTOR REOPENING TRACKER V9.0

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NEW CULTURE RECOVERY FUND FOR HERITAGE: Working in partnership with Historic England distributing £92million from Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The funds are available to #heritage organisations across England deadline is midday Monday 17 August.

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NEW CULTURE RECOVERY FUND FOR HERITAGE: Working in partnership with Historic England distributing £92million from Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The funds are available to #heritage organisations across England deadline is midday Monday 17 August.

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The Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage is providing £92m with grants from £10,000 up to £3m available for heritage organisations in England.

Funds will be distributed by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS).

"For many heritage organisations this funding will be the lifeline they have been waiting for and I urge them to apply as soon as possible."
Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, says: "For many heritage organisations this funding will be the lifeline they have been waiting for and I urge them to apply as soon as possible.

"As the lockdown has lifted, and the public begin to return to some of our much-loved places, the true value of our heritage is more obvious than ever. Heritage is vital in creating economic prosperity, in making local communities better places to live, and in supporting our own personal sense of wellbeing."

The deadline for applications is midday Monday 17 August. Find out more and apply.

It does not matter if you have previously received or applied for funding from us.

How to apply

The Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage opens for applications on Thursday 30 July. The deadline is midday Monday 17 August. Decisions on awards will be made from late September.

We have made our application process as straightforward as possible, but please do get in touch with any queries.

Find out more about our criteria (which are set by DCMS) and our application guidance.

Who can apply

* any heritage organisations managing a heritage site or visitor attraction
* private owners of a heritage site, venue or attraction
* organisations managing, maintaining or caring for culturally significant assets or collections
* businesses which are part of the heritage ecosystem, including conservators, contractors, specialists and suppliers
* organisations that manage culturally significant assets or collections

Non-accredited museums can apply for funding. Accredited museums and those working towards accreditation should apply to the Culture Recovery Fund through Arts Council England.

Find out more about who can apply.

Emerging from the crisis

This new fund is part of the Government's wider £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund announced earlier this month. Separate portions of the funding are being distributed by Arts Council England for arts and culture, and the British Film Institute for film and cinema.

The National Heritage Memorial Fund, which also operates as The National Lottery Heritage Fund, is delivering the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage on behalf of DCMS.

Ros Kerslake says: "We remain dedicated to helping the heritage sector emerge from this crisis with strength and resilience so that it can thrive once again."

Sir Laurie Magnus, Chairman of Historic England adds: "This crucial funding will help the organisations and businesses who look after our locally-cherished historic sites. It is a recognition that investing directly in historic places can bring wide ranging social benefits, inspiring communities to engage with their past and encouraging creativity, regeneration and growth."

Heritage Emergency Fund

Applications for the current Heritage Emergency Fund, supported by The National Lottery, close this Friday 31 July. Find out more and apply.

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New £92million Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage launches

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The Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage is providing £92m with grants from £10,000 up to £3m available for heritage organisations in England. Funds will be distributed by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS).

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Arts Council England National Lottery Grants

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Arts Council England National Lottery Grants

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Progressive Web Applications helping Museums to revitalise their markets post covid-19

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Progressive Web Applications helping Museums to revitalise their markets post covid-19

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Progressive Web Applications (PWA) area type of app that is consumed from the browser, an interface that allows displaying a website as an application, working as a fusion between an app and a website. Given its characteristics, a PWA is a very effective solution for the audio-guide services of museums, monuments or places of tourist interest that cannot afford an attended service or want to complete it at this time of digital transformation.

GVAM is developing a first PWA project for the Palau de la Música Catalana, which will be released in July. Access to audiovisual content that will guide the view of the Palau will be even more direct and simple than through an app.

We will also complete the audio guide services with PWAs the Seville Cathedral and the Barcelona Football Club. Analyzing the needs of their visitors and users, they have chosen to develop the PWA project together with GVAM to offer an alternative means of use during COVID19, easy to use and intuitive. Furthermore, like any other GVAM application, this PWA has all the functionalities and data systems of the GVAM technological ecosystem.

Progressive web applications (PWA) such as audio guides allow you to use any multimedia content: videos, images, games, etc. You can maintain the functions of navigation by route, numerical keyboard or map of the enclosure. They are compatible with the rest of the solutions that these clients already have thanks to GVAM: rental devices, APPs for downloading, microsites on the web, etc. And of course they connect to the same support systems as the content manager Ventour to incorporate more content, languages or accessibility aids, as well as GStats to collect data and obtain the complete statistics of our systems.
GVAM PWAs stand out for their advantages for museums, monuments and tourist sites.
The speed and performance are the most important features of PWAs, offering a low bounce rate and loading content faster than a responsive website. If we open the pages from our mobile browser we can see that the screen and navigation are practically the same as the applications for iOS or Android. You only need an Internet connection and you don't need to install anything!

Another advantage of PWA compared to mobile apps is that they can be tracked by search engines like Google, so their content is indexed. The possibilities of promotion, from the ticket sales or reservation pages, are increased.

In the field of museums and monuments, the user makes sporadic use of the content in situ and encounters barriers such as waiting time, available disk space or battery consumption. All this makes it difficult for them to download an app on the phone. On the other hand, with a PWA the app gains strength by being able to access with a single link and by not having to download it to see the contents. In addition, we do not give up the option of leaving it accessible on the desktop of the mobile device in case the user wants to use it multiple times.

In conclusion, GVAM's PWA or progressive web applications blur established barriers between what is understood as a mobile application and a web. They are the answer to speed up the speed and current needs of users, also offering a pleasant, friendly and intuitive interface for users.

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Progressive Web Applications (PWA) as audio guides - GVAM

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Progressive Web Applications (PWA) area type of app that is consumed from the browser, an interface that allows displaying a website as an application, working as a fusion between an app and a website. Given its characteristics, a PWA is a very effective solution for the audio-guide services of museums, monuments or places of tourist ...

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Arts Council England National Lottery Grants, How to apply Supplementary Notes

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Arts Council England National Lottery Grants, How to apply Supplementary Notes

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Art Fund Respond and Re-imagine Grants (guidance for applications)

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Art Fund Respond and Re-imagine Grants (guidance for applications)

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Museums and Galleries in Scotland NOW OPEN

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Museums and Galleries in Scotland NOW OPEN

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NOW OPEN: Museums And Galleries To Explore - Google My Maps

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Have you missed spending time in your favourite local museum and gallery, or are you itching to explore somewhere new? Museums and galleries across Scotland are reopening every week, so keep an eye on this map and share your visit with #MuseumsAreGo Know before you go and make sure to check the museum's website for opening times and safety measures.

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Scottish museums confirm reopening dates

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Scottish museums confirm reopening dates

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The reopening dates for three of Scotland's major museums have been confirmed.

The National Museum of Scotland, the National Museum of Flight and the National Museum of Rural Life will open their doors again in August.

The museums have been closed for five months because of the Covid pandemic.

The reopening of the National War Museum, which is located inside Edinburgh Castle, will be announced at a later date.

This will be to tie in with the opening of the other internal spaces at the castle.

The reopening dates are:

National Museum of Flight - Wednesday 5 August, open from 10:00 - 17:00

National Museum of Rural Life - Wednesday 12 August, open from 10:00 - 17:00

National Museum of Scotland - Wednesday 19 August, open from 10:30 - 16:30

Visitors will notice new measures to protect against coronavirus, including pre-booked entry, extra cleaning, "sneeze screens", hand-sanitising stations and one-way systems.

There will be a more limited offering on display initially, and with "high-touch" areas, while spaces where physical distancing cannot be maintained will remain closed.

Shops and cafés will also reopen, but will not accept cash.

'Safety is paramount'

Dr Chris Breward, of National Museums Scotland, said: "Nothing compares with that exhilarating feeling which comes from encountering real objects in our unique buildings.

"The safety of our staff and visitors is paramount and everyone can feel confident that we have been working incredibly hard across all of our sites to ensure their visit will be both safe and enjoyable.

"Things may feel a little different when you visit, but we are still here, your much-loved museums, with a few additional measures to keep you safe."

Online booking for free tickets to the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh reopens on 14 August. The reopening of galleries will be phased, with the entrance hall and level one galleries opening first. Further floors will reopen in due course.

National Museum of Flight, which is in East Lothian, will take online bookings from 31 July. Entry will be free to the airfield and Concorde hangar between 5 and 16 August. Paid entry will resume on 17 August with the opening of additional hangars.

Online booking for the National Museum of Rural Life in East Kilbride returns on 7 August. The farmhouse will remain closed but visitors can still see the museum and farm.

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Scottish museums confirm reopening dates

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The reopening dates for three of Scotland's major museums have been confirmed. The National Museum of Scotland, the National Museum of Flight and the National Museum of Rural Life will open their doors again in August. The museums have been closed for five months because of the Covid pandemic.

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Jared Bowen: What Museums Are Like During COVID-19

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Jared Bowen: What Museums Are Like During COVID-19

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WGBHExecutive Arts Editor Jared Bowen spoke with Boston Public Radio Thursday about museums that have reopened amid the pandemic and what they are doing differently. He gave the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston as an example.

"I went to the ICA since it was among the first to reopen in Massachusetts, and it's the entry process that's different now: There's no bag check or coat check, no food at the museum at this point, they email you the tickets in advance and everyone is required to wear a mask," he said.

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Jared Bowen: What Museums Are Like During COVID-19

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WGBHExecutive Arts Editor Jared Bowen spoke with Boston Public Radio Thursday about museums that have reopened amid the pandemic and what they are doing differently. He gave the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston as an example.

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Report on Impact of Covid-19 on DCMS Sectors published 23rd July

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Report on Impact of Covid-19 on DCMS Sectors published 23rd July

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The Government has been 'too slow' to respond to the needs of the DCMS sectors during the Covid-19 outbreak with many organisations facing an "existential threat" to their survival, say MPs.

In a wide-ranging report, the DCMS Committee finds Ministers have consistently failed to recognise the scale of the challenge that Covid-19 presents to culture, sport and tourism.

MPs say the response to the crisis by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has been hampered by the Department's lack of spending power and a fundamental misunderstanding across Government of the needs, structures and vital social contribution of sectors such as the creative industries.

DCMS remains one of the smallest government departments by budget and staffing and has seen one of the highest turn-over of Secretaries of State of any, with Oliver Dowden as ninth in the role since May 2010.

The Report finds the loss of performing arts institutions and cultural workers would put at risk the Government's 'levelling up' agenda and reverse decades of progress in cultural provision, diversity and inclusion.

Chair's comments

DCMS Committee Chair Julian Knight MP said:

"We are witnessing the biggest threat to our cultural landscape in a generation.

The failure of the government to act quickly has jeopardised the future of institutions that are part of our national life and the livelihoods of those who work for them.

Our report points to a department that has been treated as a 'Cinderella' by government when it comes to spending, despite the enormous contribution that the DCMS sectors make to the economy and job creation. We can see the damaging effect that has had on the robustness and ability of these areas to recover from the Covid crisis. The £1.57 bn support is welcome but for many help has come too late.

We urge the government to act on our recommendations, to recognise the value these sectors provide and imagine how much bleaker the outcome for all without their survival."

Further information

Image: Unsplash

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Report on Impact of Covid-19 on DCMS Sectors published - Committees - UK Parliament

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The Government has been 'too slow' to respond to the needs of the DCMS sectors during the Covid-19 outbreak with many organisations facing an "existential threat" to their survival, say MPs. In a wide-ranging report, the DCMS Committee finds Ministers have consistently failed to recognise the scale of the challenge that Covid-19 presents to culture, sport and tourism.

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10 ways to make your museum website COVID secure

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10 ways to make your museum website COVID secure

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Above: Stadel Museum in Frankfurt, one of the European museums that has reopened
A month after the rest of Europe, the first museums in the UK reopened. Others have already written about the different, sometimes clinical, but also meditative effects of a Covid-secure visit. But how to prepare the visitor for this? 10 tips on how museums and other attractions communicate this to visitors, before they book a ticket, during, and afterwards.

Communicate what's new

how visitors can keep distance, also upon entering and exiting.

if there is a one way system in place, and what this means.

what visitors can bring and what not

what parts of an attraction might be closed, including shops, cafes and restaurants and toilets.

why visitors need to buy a ticket in advance, and how they can.

what extra cleaning regime there is in place.

The Kroller Muller museum conveniently divides its guidance in 'before your visit' and 'during your visit'. If you look for completeness, the Corona protocol page of the Dutch amusement park Efteling wins. It even has a separate section on the toilets!

Be flexible where you can

During lockdown cultural institutions and visitor attractions have gotten a lot of sympathy from the audience, it would be foolish to squander that by being stricter than necessary.

Make it visual

Although icons are most powerful if people have seen them before, especially social distancing illustrations lend themselves perfectly for on brand variations. Just compare these two examples below:

Show a preview video

It is interesting to see what museums and attractions do in videos besides just communicating how to visit safely:

Update your online ticketing system

Where previously some attractions sold tickets valid for an entire day, or (in case of zoos) whole seasons, now they need to sell tickets for specific time slots in order to manage the number of visitors.

Don't forget members and pass holders

Many people become a member or get a year pass for an attraction to be able to just walk in whenever they want. This is not possible under most countries' guidance. So attractions have to make sure they communicate this clearly, for example via email.

Update your terms and conditions

A boring but important detail: make sure you review your terms and conditions, update them where necessary, and make sure visitors agree to them when buying a ticket. This at least includes giving consent with the hygiene measures and health issues policies.

Send a pre visit reminder
Above: Airline KLM does a good job by sending an SMS reminder 2 days before a flight.
People are forgetful. So reminding them of the changes close to their visit can be very useful - and it might be worth looking for different channels like SMS to make sure you really reach your visitors.

Inform on site

The Rijksmuseum offers 3 one way routes, and points visitors to use their multimedia tour app on them. More museums are encouraging visitors to use their phones on-site. Think about what more a visitor could do with this - maybe finding out what services are open/closed, to virtually queue for a specific exhibit, or to pre-order food?

You don't necessarily need to have an app for this! A few (mobile optimised) pages on your website could also do the trick. If you offer free wifi at your museum, you could even set these pages as the start pages once a visitor logs in.

Show why people should visit

Above: The homepage of Blenheim Palace makes clear what visitors need to do, uses icons, addresses members, and still show the beauty of the attraction.

Finally, with all this thinking and talking about Covid-securing a visit, one may easily forget what people are coming for! The fun of an attraction, beauty of a garden, splendour of a historical venue, art and reflection at a museum. The shared experience of being away with their family.

So in all communication, let us not forget to show what makes a place worth visiting. Mention what's on view, show pictures with people in them, include the luscious views in a video.

About the author - Martijn van der Heijden

Martijn spoke at conferences like MuseumNext, SXSW, and Museums and the Web. In his former role at Fabrique he led teams that won a Webby of the Design Museum's website, bagged a European Design Award for the Tate app, and had loads of fun with the Royal Academy's online collection. His latest discovery is how a digital user centric approach can be applied to physical exhibitions and experience design of museum visits.

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10 ways to make your museum website COVID secure - MuseumNext

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Above: Stadel Museum in Frankfurt, one of the European museums that has reopened A month after the rest of Europe, the first museums in the UK reopened. Others have already written about the different, sometimes clinical, but also meditative effects of a Covid-secure visit. But how to prepare the visitor for this?

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Increased digital activities in museums during COVID19

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Increased digital activities in museums during COVID19

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During the COVID-19 lockdowns, museums increased their digital activities. This Insight summarises trajectories of this sudden digital transformation, reflects on its consequences, and presents a project aimed at mapping museums' digital responses to the pandemic.
In the last four months, almost all museums around the world have been temporarily closed (90% of them, UNESCO 2020). The long-term impact, as in many other areas of our society, is going to emerge only gradually and is going to be multifaceted. On the one hand, it is clear that the sector will suffer a significant financial impact, following months without revenue and a likely reduced number of tourists over the summer. On the other hand, these months have seen the cultural sector rushing to offer audiences a variety of online ways to engage with heritage content and participate remotely in arts events. Museums, in particular, increased their digital activities by 15% (ICOM 2020): this Insight focuses on this sudden, and arguably forced, growth in the online activities of museums.

Moving online

In an earlier piece in this Magazine, Helen Rees Leahy pointed out how a 'digital stampede' to produce online content is both one of the most visible contributions of museums to our lockdown life and a revealing element of the inequalities in access to cultural heritage (Rees Leahy 2020). Furthermore, if it is true that museums worldwide have increased their online presence, this increase is also unevenly distributed: NEMO (2020a) noticed that '4 out of 5' respondents to its survey (which included, by large, European museums) have increased their digital activities, and UNESCO (2020) pointed out how just 5% of museums in the developing world have been able to do so. Besides, access to these online resources - requiring a device (with computers and smartphones, laptops and tablets, all offering different modes of experiencing this digital content) and a good Internet connection - is equally unfairly and unjustly distributed across the world.

Still, the discovery, promotion, and sharing of online museum resources have been recurring topics in the last months, offering a welcome distraction from the news headlines. In this context, since early March 2020, I have been observing the range of digital activities proposed by museums during the lockdowns. I have been particularly interested in two aspects: sustainability and engagement of these initiatives. While I have previously researched public (digital) engagement with cultural heritage, my current work focuses also on digital preservation and curation. Coming from this background, it has been interesting to observe how museums have quickly adapted existing resources or have, instead, chosen to develop new ones - in both cases, raising questions about the long-term sustainability of these approaches to produce digital gateways to cultural heritage.

Firstly, the digitisation and online availability of museum collections is still a major challenge for museums. A quote that I like to cite when writing about the development of online portals and standards for cultural heritage comes from a review of the first conference on museums and computers, which took place in 1968. Edward Fry noted that one of the potentials of new technologies "within this general area of cataloging is the linking of the data bank from within any single museum to an intermuseum computer network, thus joining many separate data banks into one overall index or repertory of works of art." (Fry 1970). With some inevitable changes, this 'intermuseum computer network' might not be too different from the aims of current Linked Open Data projects. However, current surveys on digitisation in the sector also emphasise how we are still a long way from such 'intermuseum': for example, the Enumerate survey from 2017 highlighted how currently only 33% of European museums have descriptive metadata for their collections available online (Nauta et al. 2017). Therefore, while quickly trying to make available part of their collections, museums might have chosen less digitally-robust and sustainable solutions.

Secondly, metadata-enriched open collections are not enough to foster a broader engagement with cultural heritage. Museums have both reused and created resources, promoting different views and engagement modes with collections and their stories. From educational and fun activities for children to the streaming of curatorial talks, from craft resources to social media challenges, there has been a wide range of options to choose from. The outcomes of such initiatives are, however, less clear. For example, a popular blog post suggested that virtual tours enjoyed an early short-lived success (Alexis 2020), but - as it has been pointed out by Chris Unitt (2020) - this conclusion relied on a misunderstanding of the functioning of Google Trends and the uses of keywords in Google searches. Fundamentally, the interest raised by these posts is a further proof of the current lack of clear methods and benchmarks for researching online audiences and evaluating their engagement. As the Digital Culture Report 2019 stated, "understanding how to gather, analyse and interpret audience data is therefore becoming essential" (NESTA & ACE 2019: 9). Indeed, the first part of 2020 has confirmed the urgency of going beyond analytics in order to develop a more granular and in-depth understanding of how cultural audiences experience museum online projects. Given my interest in researching social media engagement (Zuanni 2017a; 2017b), I have begun to collect social media posts of popular hashtags launched during the pandemic (e.g. #MuseumsFromHome, for which I have collected over 160,000 tweets; and #MuseumsUnlocked, with over 105,000 tweets). I have also been documenting the diffusion of more geographically-bounded hashtags: for example, German-speaking institutions have been promoting their activities using #closedbutactive, while Italian museums - as mentioned also by Chiara Bartolini (2020) - have been using, among others, #ArTyouReady.

Thirdly, there has been an impressive surge of contemporary collecting projects (see also Arvanitis 2020). Besides the English-speaking world, where this practice is relatively more established, an impressive series of projects focused on collecting physical and born-digital content has been launched in a range of countries, including Austria (where, at the moment of writing, I am aware of 16 different institutions collecting photos, objects, websites, and diaries about the pandemic). In this regard, it will be interesting to follow how this content will be catalogued, managed, and curated in the future - and indeed the inclusion of contemporary collections in collection management systems and policies is one of the big challenges for the sector, increasingly of interest to both the archival and museum sector. It is a challenge already being investigated and I have myself organised a workshop on the topic in 2019. More recently, valuable guidelines and reports have been published just before the lockdown (Kavanagh 2019; Miles et al. 2020; Alberti et al. 2020).

Documenting museums' digital responses to the lockdowns

There are a few different portals trying to document the situation of museums during the pandemic. With regard to digital projects, NEMO's map focused on tracking museum re-openings (NEMO 2020b), but it also included national overviews on digital approaches. Various national ICOM committees and museum associations have also curated lists of resources and initiatives, as well as conducted national surveys (e.g. ICOM Italia 2020; Museumspraxis 2020). Similarly, newspapers, blogs, and professional mailing lists have presented and discussed various aspects of this shift to 'the digital' in museums. Following the example of many colleagues, I also wanted to share my insights and data with the community - and I have developed a map to start visualising the dataset I collected, including some social media posts. It is available at this link.

The dataset has been collected with the help of Sabrina Melcher, student assistant at ZIM, who has also helped design the website. At the moment, I have chosen to keep a simpler backend: instead of a proper database, we are using a series of Google Sheet documents. This allows me to crowdsource more information about museum projects through Google Forms and to directly map the Twitter datasets (since we are using TAGS, which is also Google-based). I wrote a Google Script to automatically geocode the data in these spreadsheets, and a JavaScript to pull the data from these spreadsheets, convert them to GeoJSON, and visualise them in a Leaflet map. This solution has allowed us to publish more quickly our datasets, and it enable us to have a faster workflow for publishing new information. In the long-term, we hope to be able to transform this small website in a proper archive - with a more robust database on the backend and a more developed categorisation of museum initiatives.

At the moment, we chose to sort our data in eight different categories: contemporary collecting; social media; streaming content; virtual tours (which might have been conceived in very different ways); online exhibitions; games; educational content (whether targeted at children or more broadly for life-long learning); and activities that do not fall in any of these categories. I am aware that museums might have developed activities in more than one area, and we have been discussing the level of granularity with which to categorise them. At the moment, we are adding each museum project separately, so to enable better tagging and filtering by type of activity. Finally, since the most popular social media hashtags included too many data-points that were slowing down and overcrowding the map, I have chosen to currently enable a visualisation only of the #closedbutactive Twitter dataset.

Conclusion

It would be easy to say that the pandemic has transformed our cultural heritage institutions. The situation is, as always, much more complex, with lots of dramatic consequences and glimpses of different future possibilities. Will museums be transformed, and if so, in what ways? Will our access to cultural heritage become more digital and open? How many of the digital projects launched in the last months will survive and develop further? How many ideas will be deprecated for lack of funding, lack of technological resources, or lack of interest? How many people discovered a cultural heritage institution online and will keep on cultivating this interest and relationship once the lockdowns will be lifted?

I don't have an answer to these questions, of course. But I am certainly interested in following the situation and documenting this particular moment in the history of digital museums. Sabrina and I will continue to add data to the map, and we are also welcoming more contributions. Everyone can add further museum projects by answering a short Google Form: aiming for a broader representation, we have prepared the survey not only in English, but also in French, German, Greek, Italian, Russian, and Spanish. So, if you wish to contribute, please do so at this link and help us document the digital initiatives of museums in this period.

References

Alberti, S. J. M. M., Sonny, A., Laurenson, S., Osborn, M., & Volkmer, L. (2020). National Museums Scotland, Digital Collecting in Museums. (Accessed: 20.06.2020).

Alexis, M. (2020). People Don't Want Virtual Museum Tours; Do This Instead. (Accessed: 20.06.2020).

Arvanitis, K. (2020). What collecting spontaneous memorials can tell us about collecting COVID-19 - Part I. (Accessed: 20.06.2020).

Bartolini, C. (2020). Rethinking the role of museums in a time of crisis. Cultural Practice. (Accessed: 23.06.2020).

Fry, E. (1970). The Computer in the Museum. Computers and the Humanities, 4(5), 358-361.

ICOM (2020). Museums, museum professionals and COVID-19: ICOM and UNESCO release their full reports. (Accessed: 20.06.2020).

ICOM Italia (2020). Comunicazione digitale dei Musei ai tempi del COVID-19. (Accessed: 20.06.2020).

Kavanagh, J. (2019). Contemporary Collecting Toolkit. (Accessed: 20.06.2020).

Miles, E., Cordner, S., Kavanagh, J. (2020). Contemporary collecting. An ethical toolkit for museum practitioners. (Accessed: 20.06.2020).

Museumspraxis. (2020). Museen am digitalen Wendepunkt. (Accessed: 20.06.2020).

Nauta, J.G., van den Heuvel, W. & Teunisse, S. (2017). Report on ENUMERATE Core Survey 4. (Accessed: 20.06.2020).

NEMO (2020a). Survey on the impact of the COVID-19 situation on museums in Europe Final Report. (Accessed: 20.06.2020).

NEMO (2020b). NEMO - Museums in Europe during the COVID-19 Crisis. (Accessed: 20.06.2020).

NESTA & ACE (2019). Digital Culture 2019. (Accessed: 20.06.2020).

Rees Leahy, H. (2020). Cultural Access and the 'New Normal'. Cultural Practice. (Accessed: 23.06.2020).

UNESCO (2020). Museums around the world in the face of COVID-19. (Accessed: 20.06.2020).

Unitt, C. (2020). Actually yes, people do want virtual museum tours. (Accessed: 20.06.2020).

Zuanni, C. (2017a). Italian Museums and Twitter: an Analysis of Museum Week 2016. Archeostorie. Journal of Public Archaeology., 1(1).

Zuanni, C. (2017b). Unintended Collaborations: Interpreting Archaeology on Social Media. Internet Archaeology, 46.

Author

Dr Chiara Zuanni is a tenure-track assistant professor in digital humanities, museology-focused, in the Centre for Information Modelling - Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities at the University of Graz. Her research focuses on museum data, social media research in the heritage sector, and born-digital collecting. She is a member of the Getty Institute in Ancient Itineraries and local PI for the Erasmus+ project Digiculture (2018-2021).

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Digital responses from locked-down museums

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During the COVID-19 lockdowns, museums increased their digital activities. This Insight summarises trajectories of this sudden digital transformation, reflects on its consequences, and presents a project aimed at mapping museums' digital responses to the pandemic. In the last four months, almost all museums around the world have been temporarily closed (90% of them, UNESCO 2020).

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GVAM Checklist; Museums reopening safely and the operation of audio guide service.

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GVAM Checklist; Museums reopening safely and the operation of audio guide service.

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ALVA Attraction Recovery Tracker Wave 4 8-11th July

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ALVA Attraction Recovery Tracker Wave 4 8-11th July

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ALVA Attractions Recovery Tracker - Wave 4 (8-12 July) - 170720 - ALVA v1

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Covid-19 could lead to longer exhibitions in British museums

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Covid-19 could lead to longer exhibitions in British museums

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The Victoria and Albert, Science, and Natural History museums could offer longer exhibitions to boost revenues with dwindling numbers of returning visitors.

Bosses of the three South Kensington institutions have announced doors will reopen to those craving culture in August, but capacity will be reduced by around 80%.

In light of visitors numbers and revenues being slashed due to coronavirus, V&A director Tristram Hunt has suggested future shows could last longer and give the public more time to attend.

It is hoped extended exhibitions could buy museums time to make returns on their displays, while also giving visitors the chance to peruse in peace without the usual crowds of tourists or school trips.

"The exhibitions are going to stay on show longer, in order to make the return on them," said Mr Hunt. "And I think there will be fewer of them.

"One of the great criticisms of exhibition visiting in the past few years is just how crowded they are, so if they are slightly longer, with slightly more dwell time and space with them, the enjoyment level of those exhibitions... is more enjoyable."

He added that there will be no prescribed routes through the galleries to maintain social distancing, saying "everyone has their approach to culture and consumption so constrained by algorithms and predicative capitalism" while receiving art online, and they would be allowed to roam freely.

In the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, Science Museum Group director Ian Blatchford has said that institutions will be prepared for protests when they reopen, as legacies of colonialism and empire are expected to be challenged.

The Natural History Museum on August 5, the V&A on August 6, and the Science Museum reopens on August 19.

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Covid-19 could lead to longer exhibitions in British museums

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The Victoria and Albert, Science, and Natural History museums could offer longer exhibitions to boost revenues with dwindling numbers of returning visitors. Bosses of the three South Kensington institutions have announced doors will reopen to those craving culture in August, but capacity will be reduced by around 80%.

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Major museums announce reopening plans, and expect 80% drop in visitors

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Major museums announce reopening plans, and expect 80% drop in visitors

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Some of London's biggest museums have announced their plans to reopen next month, but are expecting visitor numbers to drop by 80% when they do.

The Natural History Museum, V&A and Science Museum will all open their doors again during August.

Visitors will be "strongly" recommended to wear face masks, but it will not be compulsory, as it will in shops.

Free tickets must be booked in advance. The venues ruled out charging, despite their "very precarious" finances.

The museums all have their main bases in South Kensington and will reopen before the end of the school summer holidays:

Natural History Museum - 5 August, Wednesday-Sunday, with the "vast majority" of galleries open. The branch in Tring, Hertfordshire, will reopen on the same day.

V&A - ground and lower ground floors from 6 August, open Thursday-Sunday; then first and second floors, and the V&A Dundee, from 27 August.

Science Museum - 19 August, seven days a week until 6 September, then Wednesday-Sunday. Reopening dates vary for the four other attractions in the Science Museum Group.

Natural History Museum director Sir Michael Dixon said its visitor numbers would initially be capped at 2,800 per day.

"But that's about a fifth of our normal average attendance," he said. "We're expecting something like an 80% reduction until social distancing rules change, and the public attitudes to visiting change.

"We think that demand will outstrip supply, but that's a guess because we're in a period of mass uncertainty at the moment."

The V&A is expecting a reduction "in the same ballpark", director Tristram Hunt said, explaining that it would open for fewer days than normal at first.

"Our finances have been bolstered by the government but are still very precarious, so there's little point having very extended opening hours if no-one's coming through the door," he said.

The museum bosses praised the government for its £1.5bn emergency funding package, but said they would need more money next year to make up for fewer people buying from their cafes and shops.

Hunt said there would need to be "a new partnership with government which recognises this new reality, which understands that in the absence of the commercial income that comes from those visitors we will need more government support going into the future".

The funding announced by the government earlier this month was "resoundingly good", according to Sir Ian Blatchford, director of the Science Museum Group and chair of the National Museum Directors' Council.

"It's the type of thing you'd expect the German or the French government to spend," he said.

'A retrograde step'

"The big issue for us is next year - the [next] full financial year - there'll be a discussion with the government this autumn."

But he said charging for entry to make up the financial shortfall was "definitely not on the agenda", beyond special exhibitions.

"It seems to me absolutely the worst possible policy. There's no support for entrance fees from any major political party.

"As far as I'm concerned, that debate is dead, buried and covered in concrete because at a time when we're trying to increase the diversity of our audiences, I think charging people to go to museums would be a retrograde step of absolutely the worst sort.

"If the government introduced it, I would resign."
Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk .

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Major museums expect 80% drop in visitors

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Some of London's biggest museums have announced their plans to reopen next month, but are expecting visitor numbers to drop by 80% when they do. The Natural History Museum, V&A and Science Museum will all open their doors again during August.

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As museums reopen across the world, are people ready to go back to cultural institutions?

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As museums reopen across the world, are people ready to go back to cultural institutions?

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As museums and galleries are emerging from their coronavirus lockdowns, most are still puzzling over how to reconfigure their spaces in line with new health and safety regulations. Uncertainty also remains whether people will actually visit cultural institutions in the coming weeks.

At a time when research suggests that nearly 13% of museums worldwide may never reopen, American Civil War Museum CEO Christy Coleman took to Twitter to ask potential museum-goers "what would it take for you to feel comfortable visiting your local organisation?"

While many of the responses discussed levels of rules for hygiene and social distancing, one respondent stated that "museums are one of the few public spaces I will go to before there is a vaccine," echoing the results of various reports on the attendance of museums in the pandemic era.

A new survey by IMPACTS suggests that American adults are increasingly comfortable with the idea of going to a museum in the near future, although visitors' stated intentions to visit a cultural organisation vary according to their state of residence.

Surveyed respondents in California, Oregon, and Washington are among the most likely to visit a cultural institution within the next three months, pending the lift of coronavirus-related restrictions.

Similarly, a new study by WolfBrown, conducted with 3,778 respondents living in Southeast Michigan, finds that 75% of them would be comfortable visiting an art institution as soon as it is allowed.

Although the public's expressed interest in visiting cultural sites varies throughout the United States, results are more encouraging in some countries in Europe.

As French museums are reopening en masse after more than three months of lockdown, a study by l'Oeil du Public notes that most of those surveyed are ready to comply with new social distancing regulation and see art in person (50%).

Some 7,000 art enthusiasts have reserved tickets for a long-awaited tête-à-tête with the Mona Lisa, as the Louvre in Paris unlocked its doors for the first time in months on July 6. Meanwhile, the Centre George Pompidou, also in Paris, reportedly welcomed about 3,000 visitors for its official reopening on July 1.

While social distancing may feel like second nature to some art aficionados in France, British people are more anxious at the idea of returning to cultural institutions amidst the pandemic.

According to a new poll from Ipsos MORI, 49% of the public say that they are "not very comfortable" or "not at all comfortable" with visiting an indoor museum or exhibition after coronavirus-related restrictions are eased.

Only 34% of people said they were "very" or "fairly" comfortable going to a museum after lockdown, although 59% of Britons surveyed are comfortable at the idea of going to cinemas and theatres as soon as they reopened on July 4.

In London the National Gallery reopened on July 8 and the Royal Academy of Arts on July 9, while more sites have plans to reopen later this month. - AFP

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Are people ready to go back to museums and cultural institutions?

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As museums and galleries are emerging from their coronavirus lockdowns, most are still puzzling over how to reconfigure their spaces in line with new health and safety regulations. Uncertainty also remains whether people will actually visit cultural institutions in the coming weeks.

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Experiencing museums and galleries in a COVID-19 age

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Experiencing museums and galleries in a COVID-19 age

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Since the announcement of further lockdown easing measures from the 4 th July, galleries and museums across the country have released cautious re-opening plans. The National Gallery, where doors are set to open from the 8th July, was amongst the first to announce their proposed social distancing measures: visitors will move through the museum via three pre-determined one-way routes with hand sanitiser stations placed regularly, whilst PPE shall be provided to staff and mask-wearing 'encouraged' for all visitors. This will all impact experiencing museums in a COVID-19 age.

Is it worth going at all?

Though still compiling their own strategies, those following suit include The Royal Academy, The Barbican, and all four Tate galleries in July, as well as smaller galleries such as Oxford's own Ashmolean Museum in August. This may all be hopeful news for art and culture lovers, but it raises some difficult questions. After all, is it safe to head back into public spaces? Will we feel comfortable at these distanced exhibitions? Is it worth going at all?

During the strictest lockdown period, countless exhibitions moved online for public safety reasons. Though not all critical responses have been positive - Laura Cumming's comment in The Observer that galleries can 'stop pretending their online viewing rooms are actual shows' is one example -, and some of us have wistfully imagined being there in person, the majority of these virtual tours and guides have been a genuinely excellent alternative - and far more accessible.

Just looking within Oxford, though they have no plans to re-open so far, the Natural History Museum's virtual viewing software is a great - if slightly motion-sickening - way to take a look around at your own pace. Meanwhile, Modern Art Oxford is a game-changer: their three fully-curated online exhibits are incredibly easy to navigate; each exhibit showcases details about every work, educational videos, and signposted artist testimonies signposted. As the pandemic continues to take hundreds of lives a day, and this range of high-quality material only a click away, there is certainly an argument to continue exploring galleries from home. Yet as Jenny Waldman, director of the Art Fund, commented, 'the lockdown closures have hit museums' finances incredibly hard'. After months of total income loss, and with few permanent collections to rely on, many of the UK's best-loved galleries are facing extinction.

For places such as the Ashmolean, whose much-anticipated 'Young Rembrandt' exhibition was shut after only two weeks, funds to maintain the artwork loans, security, and overhead costs are rapidly dwindling. Re-opening is also a financial nightmare in many ways, with director Xa Sturgis explaining that "the most we'll be able to send through the socially distanced system is 600 visitors a week, instead of almost 5,000" - not enough to fund their loan security on Rembrandt's 1629 self-portrait from Munich. Plans are still underway, however, for their mid-August re-opening; it seems this may be the last chance for smaller venues like this to revive themselves. If distancing measures are strictly enforced, the compromised visitor intake could be the safest (and perhaps only) way to protect both the public and the art they love.

funds to maintain the artwork loans, security, and overhead costs are rapidly dwindling

So what of the visitor experience itself? Taking the National Gallery's measures as a basis, there seem to be some stand-out positives: unlike other leisure spots, the pub, for example, having fewer crowds and a quieter atmosphere is a definite bonus. A clear route around all the artworks also appears a useful addition, even if it might feel forced. Whilst it is inevitable that people will have to move at a reasonably fixed pace to maintain distance, leaving less time to pause over favourite pieces, the National Gallery is determined that visitors can wander freely around these marked routes despite their booked timed slot system - though whether this is achievable remains to be seen.

Yet, even if there were a sense of restriction, it would feel a little tone-deaf to mourn the old, 'normal' gallery visit. We are lucky if a trip is of low risk to our health; to grumble about a set route or having to wear a mask seems frankly entitled. The fact that these places still exist at all in the current climate is something about which to be profoundly grateful and to treasure whilst it lasts. It may feel strange at first; but, a chance to see original artworks anywhere, whatever the format, should not be sniffed at.

'everything has an aura now, and not just the art'
Adrian Searle

One issue that does seem a reasonable concern, however, is not the restriction of the measures, but rather their effectiveness. It could well be possible, as the National Gallery hopes, to still move freely and spend time on each artwork, but will it actually feel comfortable to do so?

Adrian Searle, reviewing the recently opened 'Crushed, Cast, Constructed' Gagosian sculpture exhibition for The Guardian, described how 'everything has an aura now, and not just the art': there is a tension between the thrill of seeing artworks in the flesh again and our new paranoid awareness of distance. It could be difficult to feel that relaxed, immersive atmosphere of a museum or gallery when constantly monitoring our personal space. And yet, within a month of one-way supermarkets and two-meter queues for the post office, we no longer give it much thought; surely there is no reason why museums and galleries cannot slip into our 'new normal'?

Socially distanced museums and galleries will be different from previous exhibitions, and probably from our expectations. They could, nonetheless, provide some hope of the art world's revival - if only for the short term. Wariness of the gradual easing of lockdown is understandable, and many collections are still worth exploring in all their glory online. But for anyone just dreaming of a good old wander through a gallery or curious about experiencing museums in a COVID-19 age, you may rest assured that our arts institutions are equally desperate to have you back. Let us be grateful that they can at all.

Photograph by Lewis Clark via Wikimedia & Creative Commons.

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Experiencing museums and galleries in a COVID-19 age - Cherwell

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Since the announcement of further lockdown easing measures from the 4 th July, galleries and museums across the country have released cautious re-opening plans.

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Louvre museum reopens after 16-week COVID-19 shutdown

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Louvre museum reopens after 16-week COVID-19 shutdown

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The Louvre, the world's most visited museum, reopened Monday after its coronavirus closure but with nearly a third of its galleries still closed to visitors.

The vast former palace of France's kings has lost more than 40 million euros ($45 million) in ticket sales during the near-four-month lockdown, and director Jean-Luc Martinez admitted it could have a few more lean years ahead as the world adapts to the virus.

Although most of the museum's most popular draws, like the "Mona Lisa" and its vast antiquities collection, will be accessible, other galleries where social distancing is more difficult will remain closed.

There will also not be crowding in front of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece for a selfie, with visitors warned that they will have to stick to standing on well-distanced spots marked on the floor.

To avoid bottlenecks, arrows will guide visitors through the labyrinth of galleries, with doubling back banned, the museum said.

Some 70% of the Louvre's 9.6 million visitors last year were from overseas, and with tourism at a standstill, Martinez told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that numbers could drop sharply.

"We are losing 80% of our public," he said.

"We are going to be at best 20% to 30% down on last summer - between 4,000 and 10,000 visitors a day," he estimated.

The museum hopes to attract more French visitors to fill the gap as it embarks on a campaign to shake off its elitist image before the Paris Olympics in four years' time.

Martinez, who comes from a working-class background, said he wanted to build on the outreach success of the Louvre's outpost museum in Lens, a poor former mining town in northern France.

He said sometimes the Louvre can "intimidate" certain demographics, and the museum needs to reassure people that its collections are also for them with improved presentation, labeling and curation.

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Louvre museum reopens after 16-week COVID-19 shutdown

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The Louvre, the world's most visited museum, reopened Monday after its coronavirus closure but with nearly a third of its galleries still closed to visitors. The vast former palace of France's kings has lost more than 40 million euros ($45 million) in ticket sales during the near-four-month lockdown, and director Jean-Luc Martinez admitted it could have a few more lean years ahead as the world adapts to the virus.

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The digital transformation of services involves the modernization of the processes and products that form them to increase their efficiency, value experience and income generating capacity.

Audio guide services are a service that has not undergone many variations until the advent of connected mobile technology. Mobile applications and smartphones have enabled the digital transformation of this service, used by millions of visitors every year, and which allows museums and monuments to establish a relationship of trust with them that until now was unthinkable.

Today, a visitor can interact with the collection and the building individually, can access multimedia and interactive content, can personalize their visit and contract additional services, while allowing the institution to improve its knowledge of its public to carry out more effective and segmented actions.

The audio guide service is a complex service whose transformation does not consist in replacing them for an APP. This is a very limited vision that forgets many opportunities and compromises the subsistence of a source of income generation for the museum.

The COVID19 crisis has dramatically highlighted the digital shortcomings of many cultural institutions, but it has also allowed the digital transformation to enter the sector. However, this evolution also brings risks if we do not carry out a serious and careful analysis of processes and costs.

It is true that during the confinement and the prohibitions on audio guides (which have finally been lifted), the APPs in their different modalities ( PWA or progressive web applications, Web APPs, native, hybrid APPs, etc.) offered an alternative until the face-to-face service would again operate or be profitable. But I underline the "until". We should never think that this is a permanent strategy, much less that this is a properly planned or completed digital transformation.

Since 2015, GVAM has been applying this methodology to the audio guide services it manages in Spain and in other countries. Institutions such as National Heritage, the Alhambra and the Generalife, the Futbol Club Barcelona, Real Madrid, the Cathedral of Seville, etc, they benefit from comprehensive solutions that we incorporate into all elements of the value chain. Thanks to the concession contracts, enormous amounts of narrations, images, videos, accessibility aids, etc. of the highest quality and at no cost have been produced to these institutions. This is a formula that very few services can replicate since they do not have such a clear profit-price ratio for visitors.

The devices that are used to provide the service within the mentioned museums and monuments and that are provided to visitors are only one link in this chain that, from our point of view, must connect with the customer's data ecosystem. Perhaps the audio guides, the device and its informative content are the only visible element, but it should not be thought that there is nothing else behind it.
As in an iceberg, behind the devices there are applications, processes, people that make the visitor feel comfortable, open their minds and trust us for several hours.
A great opportunity for digital transformation. It is necessary to flee from simplifications or short-term visions that cause an immediate economic loss, and even the failure of the transformation by not meeting expectations.

GVAM has invested many resources and implemented solutions that today give confidence to clients around the world and to millions of visitors. These solutions provide service indistinctly to the APPs and our smart audio guides that are rented to the visitor in museums by our staff.

For example, we have developed complex data capture and behavioral analytics systems, allowing our clients to characterize visitors and better plan the exhibition offering and their communication campaigns. We are able to take advantage of this information and launch real-time promotions to tourists, thus connecting heritage resources with leisure, shopping, or gastronomy in our cities. We have implemented systems of participation and planning of the visit, both for families and school groups, who learn by playing in palaces and other monuments full of stories to tell. During this health crisis, it has been possible to easily add monitoring and information solutions to visitors who report saturated areas, and send automated messages with measures related to COVID19. We have the ability to deploy and update changes immediately and segmented thanks to the connectivity of all solutions and all elements of the experiential chain.
Digital transformation is necessary but not in any way.
The return to trust and sustainability will go through making viable the full integration of the systems and their connection with the visitor: the box office, the guide, the store, having a coffee and the connected audio guides. Nothing and nobody should be left behind and audio guide services should be part of the digital transformation. At GVAM we are prepared and willing to implement rigorous and effective operations that build trust for users so that they feel safe and cared for, so that they continue to participate, interact and enjoy our culture and heritage.
Jaime Solano, Founder and CEO of GVAM

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The digital transformation of audioguides - GVAM

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The digital transformation of services involves the modernization of the processes and products that form them to increase their efficiency, value experience and income generating capacity. Audio guide services are a service that has not undergone many variations until the advent of connected mobile technology.

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Scotland: COVID19 guidance for museums, galleries and heritage attractions

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Scotland: COVID19 guidance for museums, galleries and heritage attractions

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Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance for museums, galleries and heritage attractions

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Good practice guidelines for re-opening Scottish museums, galleries and heritage attractions during the coronavirus pandemic.

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ICOM webinar recording 25th June: Opening Museums Around The World

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ICOM webinar recording 25th June: Opening Museums Around The World

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Post COVID-19: re-opening museums around the world

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Visit Britain Consumer Tracker 22nd-26th June (week 6 of 13) 

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Visit Britain Consumer Tracker 22nd-26th June (week 6 of 13) 

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Government Test and Trace guidance for museums

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Government Test and Trace guidance for museums

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The UK is currently experiencing a public health emergency as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It is therefore critical that organisations take a range of measures to keep everyone safe.

The easing of social and economic lockdown measures following the COVID-19 outbreak is being supported by NHS Test and Trace. You should assist this service by keeping a temporary record of your customers and visitors for 21 days, in a way that is manageable for your organisation, and assist NHS Test and Trace with requests for that data if needed. This could help contain clusters or outbreaks.

This publication provides further guidance on how you can do this in a proportionate and effective way.

NHS Test and Trace

NHS Test and Trace is a key part of the country's ongoing COVID-19 response. If we can rapidly detect people who have recently come into close contact with a new COVID-19 case, we can take swift action to minimise transmission of the virus. This is important as lockdown measures are eased and will help us return to a more normal way of life and reduce the risk of needing local lockdowns in the future.

NHS Test and Trace includes dedicated contact tracing staff working at national level under the supervision of Public Health England (PHE) and local public health experts who manage more complex cases. Local public health experts include both PHE health protection teams and local authority public health staff.

You can read further information on how NHS Test and Trace works.

The purpose of maintaining records

By maintaining records of staff, customers and visitors, and sharing these with NHS Test and Trace where requested, you can help us to identify people who may have been exposed to the virus. Containing outbreaks early is crucial to reduce the spread of COVID-19, protect the NHS and social care sector, and save lives. This will help to avoid the reintroduction of lockdown measures and support the country to return to, and maintain, a more normal way of life.

You can play a significant role in helping your staff, customers and visitors understand the importance of NHS Test and Trace and play their part in stopping the spread of COVID-19. Please do this by explaining why you are asking for contact information and encouraging them to provide it.

In addition to maintaining and sharing records where requested, you must also continue to follow other government guidance to minimise the transmission of COVID-19. This includes maintaining a safe working environment and following social distancing guidelines.

Sectors that this guidance applies to

There is a higher risk of transmitting COVID-19 in premises where customers and visitors spend a longer time in one place and potentially come into close contact with other people outside of their household. To manage this risk, establishments in the following sectors, whether indoor or outdoor venues or mobile settings, should collect details and maintain records of staff, customers and visitors:

hospitality, including pubs, bars, restaurants and cafés

tourism and leisure, including hotels, museums, cinemas, zoos and theme parks

close contact services, including hairdressers, barbershops and tailors

facilities provided by local authorities, including town halls and civic centres for events, community centres, libraries and children's centres

places of worship, including use for events and other community activities

This guidance applies to any establishment that provides an on-site service and to any events that take place on its premises. It does not apply where services are taken off site immediately, for example, a food or drink outlet which only provides takeaways. If a business offers a mixture of a sit-in and takeaway service, contact information only needs to be collected for customers who are dining in.

This guidance does not apply to drop-off deliveries made by suppliers or contractors.

Information to collect

The following information should be collected by the venue, where possible:

staff

the names of staff who work at the premises

a contact phone number for each member of staff

the dates and times that staff are at work

customers and visitors

the name of the customer or visitor. If there is more than one person, then you can record the name of the 'lead member' of the group and the number of people in the group

a contact phone number for each customer or visitor, or for the lead member of a group of people

date of visit, arrival time and, where possible, departure time

if a customer will interact with only one member of staff (e.g. a hairdresser), the name of the assigned staff member should be recorded alongside the name of the customer

No additional data should be collected for this purpose.

Many organisations that routinely take bookings already have systems for recording their customers and visitors - including restaurants, hotels, and hair salons. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, more organisations are planning to implement an 'advanced booking only' service to manage the numbers of people on the premises. These booking systems can serve as the source of the information that you need to collect.

You should collect this information in a way that is manageable for your establishment. If not collected in advance, this information should be collected at the point that visitors enter the premises, or at the point of service if impractical to do so at the entrance. It should be recorded digitally if possible, but a paper record is acceptable too.

Recording both arrival and departure times (or estimated departure times) will help reduce the number of customers or staff needing to be contacted by NHS Test and Trace. We recognise, however, that recording departure times will not always be practicable.

Although this is voluntary, please encourage customers and visitors to share their details in order to support NHS Test and Trace and advise them that this information will only be used where necessary to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

If a customer or visitor informs you that they do not want their details shared for the purposes of NHS Test and Trace, they can choose to opt out, and if they do so you should not share their information used for booking purposes with NHS Test and Trace.

The accuracy of the information provided will be the responsibility of the individual who provides it. You do not have to verify an individual's identity for NHS Test and Trace purposes.

How records should be maintained

To support NHS Test and Trace, you should hold records for 21 days. This reflects the incubation period for COVID-19 (which can be up to 14 days) and an additional 7 days to allow time for testing and tracing. After 21 days, this information should be securely disposed of or deleted. When deleting or disposing of data, you must do so in a way that does not risk unintended access (e.g. shredding paper documents and ensuring permanent deletion of electronic files).

Records which are made and kept for other business purposes do not need to be disposed of after 21 days. The requirement to dispose of the data relates to a record that is created solely for the purpose of NHS Test and Trace. All collected data, however, must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation and should not be kept for longer than is necessary.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

The data that we are asking you to collect is personal data and must be handled in accordance with GDPR to protect the privacy of your staff, customers and visitors. This section sets out the steps you can take to comply with GDPR.

GDPR allows you to request contact information from your staff, customers and visitors and share it with NHS Test and Trace to help minimise the transmission of COVID-19 and support public health and safety. It is not necessary to seek consent from each person, but you should make clear why the information is being collected and what you intend to do with it.

For example, if you already collect this information for ordinary business purposes, you should make staff, customers and visitors aware that their contact information may now also be shared with NHS Test and Trace.

You do not have to inform every customer individually. You might, for example, display a notice at your premises or on your website setting out what the data will be used for and the circumstances in which it might be accessed by NHS Test and Trace. You may need to offer some people additional support in accessing or understanding this information, for example, if they have a visual impairment or cannot read English.

While consent is not required, we recommend that consent is sought in sensitive settings such as places of worship and for any group meetings organised by political parties, trade unions, campaign or rights groups, other philosophical/religious groups or health support groups. This is because of the potentially sensitive nature of the data collected in these circumstances.

Personal data that is collected for NHS Test and Trace, which you would not collect in your usual course of business, must be used only to share with NHS Test and Trace. It must not be used for other purposes, including marketing, profiling, analysis or other purposes unrelated to contact tracing, or you will be in breach of GDPR. You must not misuse the data in a way that is misleading or could cause an unjustified negative impact on people e.g. to discriminate against groups of individuals.

Appropriate technical and security measures must be in place to protect customer contact information, and the ICO has produced guidance on this. These measures will vary depending on how you choose to hold this information, including whether it is collected in hard copy or electronically. We would prefer you to record and protect information electronically, but we understand this might not be possible.

You must ensure that individuals are able to exercise their data protection rights, such as the right of erasure or the right to rectification (where applicable).

NHS Test and Trace will ask for these records only where it is necessary, either because someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 has listed your premises as a place they visited recently, or because your premises have been identified as the location of a potential local outbreak of COVID-19.

NHS Test and Trace will work with you, if contacted, to ensure that information is shared in a safe and secure way. You should share the requested information as soon as possible to help us identify people who may have been in contact with the virus and help minimise the onward spread of COVID-19.

NHS Test and Trace will handle all data according to the highest ethical and security standards and ensure it is used only for the purposes of protecting public health, including minimising the transmission of COVID-19.

If you are contacted by NHS Test and Trace

Contact tracers will:

Contact tracers will never:

ask you to dial a premium rate number to speak to them (for example, those starting 09 or 087)

ask you to make any form of payment or purchase a product or any kind

ask for any details about your bank account

ask for your social media identities or login details, or those of your contacts

ask you for any passwords or PINs, or ask you to set up any passwords or PINs over the phone

disclose any of your personal or medical information to your contacts

ask about protected characteristics that are irrelevant to the needs of test and trace

provide medical advice on the treatment of any potential coronavirus symptoms

ask you to download any software to your PC or ask you to hand over control of your PC, smartphone or tablet to anyone else

ask you to access any website that does not belong to the government or NHS

How NHS Test and Trace will take steps to minimise transmission

If you receive a request for information from NHS Test and Trace this does not mean that you must close your establishment. NHS Test and Trace will, if necessary, undertake an assessment and work with you to understand what actions need to be taken.

Depending on the circumstances and the length of time that has elapsed, this could include arranging for people to be tested, asking them to take extra care with social distancing and/or - in some circumstances - asking them to self-isolate. NHS Test and Trace will give you the necessary public health support and guidance. Your staff will be included in any risk assessment and NHS Test and Trace will advise them what they should do.

If there is more than one case of COVID-19 on your premises, you should contact your local health protection team to report the suspected outbreak.

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Maintaining records of staff, customers and visitors to support NHS Test and Trace

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The UK is currently experiencing a public health emergency as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It is therefore critical that organisations take a range of measures to keep everyone safe. The easing of social and economic lockdown measures following the COVID-19 outbreak is being supported by NHS Test and Trace.

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Visit Britain 'Good to Go' accreditation

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Visit Britain 'Good to Go' accreditation

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"We're Good To Go" is the official UK mark to signal that a tourism and hospitality business has worked hard to follow Government and industry COVID-19 guidelines and has a process in place to maintain cleanliness and aid social distancing.

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Homepage - Country selection | We're Good To Go

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"We're Good To Go" is the official UK mark to signal that a tourism and hospitality business has worked hard to follow Government and industry COVID-19 guidelines and has a process in place to maintain cleanliness and aid social distancing.

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Scotland's route map for reopening - indicative dates for the remainder of Phase 2 and early Phase 3

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Scotland's route map for reopening - indicative dates for the remainder of Phase 2 and early Phase 3

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Publication - Progress report

From:

Deputy First Minister

Directorate:

Fair Work, Employability and Skills Directorate, +2 more ...Health Performance and Delivery Directorate,Health Workforce, Leadership and Service Reform Directorate

Part of:

Business, industry and innovation,Coronavirus in Scotland,Health and social care, +3 more ...Programme for Government,Public safety and emergencies,Public sector

ISBN:

9781839608513

This publication sets out indicative dates for amendments to current restrictions planned for the remainder of Phase 2 and early in Phase 3, to assist businesses, individuals and organisations to prepare.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Scotland's route map - indicative dates for the remainder of Phase 2 and early Phase 3

Guide to re-opening and scaling up over the rest of Phase 2 and early Phase 3.

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Coronavirus (COVID-19): Scotland's route map - indicative dates for the remainder of Phase 2 and early Phase 3

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Publication - Progress report From: Deputy First Minister Directorate: Fair Work, Employability and Skills Directorate, +2 more ... Health Performance and Delivery Directorate,Health Workforce, Leadership and Service Reform Directorate Part of: Business, industry and innovation,Coronavirus in Scotland,Health and social care, +3 more ...

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Visit Britain COVID-19 survey: the likelihood of U.K. residents to travel;

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Visit Britain COVID-19 survey: the likelihood of U.K. residents to travel;

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We have commissioned a weekly tracking survey to understand domestic intent to take short breaks and holidays both within the U.K. and abroad, with particular focus around the current barriers and concerns around travel and how these will evolve over time. The survey addresses: the likelihood of U.K.

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Digital technologies and museums: post-pandemic experiences

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Digital technologies and museums: post-pandemic experiences

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On 18 June, the Policy Learning Platform organised an online meeting with the objective to discuss digital technologies and museums and showcase successful practices in using digital tools for creating digital content, making the collections accessible online and increasing the overall attractiveness of museums. Recent COVID-19 hit museums dramatically as many other sectors. But the crisis gave also opportunities for digital cultural heritage, by encouraging creativity and digital engagement. Participants had the possibility to address the issue from this perspective and discuss prospects for the future.

On 9 May 2020 members of the European Heritage Alliance launched the Europe Day Manifesto ' Cultural Heritage: a powerful catalyst for the future of Europe'. One of the themes is titled Digitally Transforming Europe. 'Europe already plays a leading role in digital cultural heritage and has the potential to forge ahead with new technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning based on humanistic and ethical principles. Now we must work together to accelerate and further improve this digital transformation'.

Here are the main highlights from the online discussion:

Using innovative digital solutions to increase the attractiveness of museums and improve visitors' experience

The Riga Motor Museum (Latvia) is using a number of digital technologies that allow the visitors to explore the collections in-depth, even if virtually: audio guides, augmented reality experience, video mapping show, workstations, visual projections, multimedia solutions, audio experience, hands-on exhibits and games. This set of multimedia led to positive results, as evidenced by the increased number of visitors and international recognition.

Combining innovative digital tools and cultural content

Tholos is a virtual reality museum in Greece. It showcases the combination of innovative digital tools (virtual reality) and cultural content and explores the positive effects of Virtual Reality on the educational process. In the 'Tholos experience', real actors appear on stage, they use a digital avatar and interact with visitors, the users can use their smartphones to further experience virtual reality. A balance between representation, experience and interaction is fundamental to ensure the quality of the experience.

Innovative technologies and interpretation facilities

Highlights from the partner action plans: archaeological park (Cyprus) and 'Museum is everywhere' (Central Macedonia Region, Greece), intervention from Mr. Manos Vougioukas ( CHRISTA project)

Smart orientation and interpretation facilities have the potential to respond to visitors' needs more efficiently by providing comprehensive information about museum objects. These elements were integrated in one of the activities included in an action plan for Pafos regional board of tourism (Cyprus). The action plan was developed as part of CHRISTA project and was inspired by several good practices brought in by project partners, such as Turaida Museum reserve (Latvia) and Casa da Memória de Guimarães (Portugal). The action plan of Central Macedonia Region, another CHRISTA project partner includes the activity 'Museum is everywhere' which is an example of development of an interactive application for the archaeological museum in Thessaloniki (Greece) with differentiated content depending on the user's location.

Connecting with the audience during the period of lockdown and opportunities in the post-crisis period

Digital technologies have demonstrated their value in the period of global pandemic by bringing people together, encouraging creativity, and offering a virtual space to build ideas collectively. The Carnikava Local History Centre (Latvia) stayed connected with the audience by preparing video lectures which were posted weekly on the Facebook page of the centre. These lectures about local history were very well received, and inspired new ideas for bringing educational programs online.

During the period of lockdown many museums increased their online activities by adding features of their collections online and also developed new online exhibitions and tours. However, digital technologies cannot replace fully the direct experience of visiting a museum and the social interaction that goes with it. There is also a need to find a balance between the human factor and further uptake of technological developments. The technology is not a goal itself, but it is a way to make the visitor understand and learn more.

Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform resources

Image credit: Photo by JULIO NERY from Pexels

Type: Project

Type: Platform

Type: Project

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Digital technologies and museums: post-pandemic experiences

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On 18 June, the Policy Learning Platform organised an online meeting with the objective to discuss digital technologies and museums and showcase successful practices in using digital tools for creating digital content, making the collections accessible online and increasing the overall attractiveness of museums. Recent COVID-19 hit museums dramatically as many other sectors.

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2020 has turned out to be an annus horribilis for museums as well as the arts and culture sector. As Covid-19 spread across the globe, museums found themselves confronted with plummeting visitorship numbers and unprecedented revenue losses.

By April, almost all the museums around the world were closed, according to a report released by the International Council of Museums. Likewise, a report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation painted an equally dire picture, with 90 per cent of museums worldwide closing their doors and more than 10 per cent indicating that they may never reopen again.

Like many other cities, Singapore is cautiously reopening its economy. Singapore museums will reopen to the public in phases from today, subject to safe management measures to ensure the safety of employees and visitors.

As in the case with many other museum authorities and museums around the world, the National Heritage Board (NHB) has found the experience of dealing with Covid-19 a transformative one, forcing us to adopt new ways of doing things.

GOING DIGITAL

For example, with museum closures and more people spending more time online, many museums have pivoted to the digital realm to remain digitally open while physically closed. This has resulted in an unprecedented buffet of "click-as-much-as-you-can-consume" digital content.

The Network of European Museum Organisations reported that four out of five museums in Europe have increased their digital services, while an Art Fund survey in Britain revealed that 86 per cent of their museums and galleries have increased their online presence and content.

In Singapore, the Indian Heritage Centre, the Malay Heritage Centre and the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall were first off the starting block, using their collections to offer Covid-19-related tips, present online exhibitions, organise stay-home challenges, provide digital docent tours, et cetera.

Likewise, the National Museum of Singapore launched a virtual tour of its special exhibition with both guided and self-exploratory options, while the ArtScience Museum offered video tours of its exhibitions. Other museums such as the National Gallery Singapore and the Singapore Art Museum have also rolled out curator's talks, online performances, DIY (do-it-yourself) activities and so on.

According to a Digital Consumer Survey conducted by NHB last month and comprising 269 respondents, NHB's digital offerings successfully reached out to 43.5 per cent new audiences (that is, users who had never consumed NHB's digital content before) during the circuit breaker period.

A collection officer dusting a rickshaw at the National Museum of Singapore on Tuesday, in preparation for the museum's reopening today. The writer says that with still no end in sight to the Covid-19 pandemic, museums will have to not only find ways to overcome the public's ''safer-at-home'' mentality and ensure public safety at all times - but also come up with a ''back-to-business'' model that makes economic sense. ST PHOTO: TIMOTHY DAVID

On a more encouraging note, 87.4 per cent of survey respondents agreed that NHB's digital offerings have made them more interested in visiting our museums, while 79.9 per cent agreed that NHB's digital offerings have uplifted their spirits.

It would be interesting to note if the findings remain consistent as the sample size grows in the subsequent waves of the survey, which will be conducted this month and the next, and as NHB and our museums continue to roll out digital initiatives post-circuit breaker.

INTENTION TO RETURN

Despite the efforts of museums to stay digitally connected with their audiences, the question of who will return and who will stay away, and what will make visitors feel reassured enough to return are immediate concerns on the minds of museum directors everywhere.

The new museum-going experience is likely to rely even more heavily on technology as museums move towards online reserve-ahead ticketing systems, virtual queues, contactless payments and so on.

According to research published by IMPACTS Research & Development, audiences in the United States intend to return to their more usual attendance behaviours within three months.

Unsurprisingly, the research has revealed that demand is also being redistributed towards cultural organisations and experiences that feature outdoor spaces and/or allow for relative freedom of movement.

As such, museums are generally expected to fare better as compared with enclosed performance spaces due to the increased "perceptual risk" of contracting Covid-19 for the latter.

However, studies have revealed that while the public is comfortable visiting museums and galleries, the majority remains uncomfortable about using interactive exhibits and features.

Overall, while there may be pent-up demand for museum visits as audiences yearn to reconnect directly with art, it is likely that the museum-going market will remain highly cautious, at least in the first few months, as the general public adjusts from nationwide efforts to flatten the Covid-19 curve to living life under the curve.

CAUTIOUS REOPENINGS

As museums worldwide reopen their doors, some countries such as Singapore are adopting a phased approach with staggered museum reopenings. However, with still no end in sight to the pandemic, museums will have to not only find ways to overcome the public's "safer-at-home" mentality and ensure public safety at all times - but also come up with a "back-to-business" model that makes economic sense.

This is because the operating costs of reopening museums are likely to remain the same as before Covid-19 (and in some cases, possibly higher in view of the implementation of safe management measures) while ticket revenues and profits from retail and food and beverage offerings will remain at an all-time low.

'NEW NORMAL' FOR MUSEUMS

As museums reopen, one thing is certain - they will be greeted by a new and challenging operating environment where museum and gallery capacity will be drastically reduced.

In Singapore, museums will reopen to a visitor capacity reduced to 25 per cent; Beijing and Borneo to 30 per cent; Abu Dhabi to 40 per cent; and Dubai to 50 per cent.

With travel restrictions and the need to watch the bottom line, there has been speculation in the museum world that it may be time to bid goodbye to imported blockbuster exhibitions. Instead, museums are expected to bring more of their collections out from storage, to "think, curate and show local" and to shine the spotlight on the treasures already in their possession.

The new museum-going experience is likely to rely even more heavily on technology as museums move towards online reserve-ahead ticketing systems, virtual queues, contactless payments and so on.

It is also likely to be characterised by the use of hands-free or zero-touch technology such as switch mats, voice-or gesture-based tools and proximity-based activations.

It is undeniable that the road to recovery for museums will be long and hard. Even when a vaccine is found for Covid-19, we will not be able to completely pandemic-proof our museums against future threats.

Still, a few good things have come out of the pandemic. First, it has demonstrated that museums are resilient entities that are able to improvise and reinvent themselves by pushing their collections online, launching viral social media campaigns, taking fund-raising online and offering free collections or institution-based content.

Second, museums have also proven themselves to be both resourceful and a resource, and shown how they contribute to the well-being of the community by alleviating the challenges of confinement, reducing social isolation and boosting national morale.

Alvin Tan is deputy chief executive (policy and community) at the National Heritage Board.

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2020 has turned out to be an annus horribilis for museums as well as the arts and culture sector. As Covid-19 spread across the globe, museums found themselves confronted with plummeting visitorship numbers and unprecedented revenue losses.. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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Coronavirus: How lockdown is being lifted across Europe

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Coronavirus: How lockdown is being lifted across Europe

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Here is how Europeans are emerging from life under lockdown.

Germany: Opening up with 'emergency brake'

Foreign minister Heiko Maas lifted a travel ban for EU member states and specified European countries including the UK.

Italy: Funeral gatherings and more travel permitted

Italy imposed a strict and lengthy lockdown on 7 March - initially in the north, then nationwide - with a ban on walking or exercising more than 200m (656ft) from home.

In early May, some restrictions were relaxed and people are now able to travel for longer distances, as well as visit their relatives in small numbers. On 3 June, Italy unilaterally reopened its borders and ended regional travel restrictions, and the country entered phase three of its lockdown lifting on 15 June. Cruises on Italian ships remain suspended.

France: Macron declares 'first victory' against the virus

France's strict lockdown was imposed on 17 March, with residents required to provide a travel permit justifying any outdoor trips.

Restrictions began to ease on 11 May, and on 14 June President Emmanuel Macron declared France had won its "first victory" against the virus as he lifted more measures

Denmark: Restrictions eased since mid-April

Denmark, one of the first European countries to announce a lockdown, started to ease restrictions in mid-April, with a four-phase plan.

Baltic countries: The first 'travel bubble' in Europe

The three Baltic states - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia - became the first countries in Europe to allow free movement again, but initially only with each other.

From 15 May, citizens and residents could move freely across the three countries, provided they had not travelled outside the Baltic states in the past two weeks, were not infected, and not in contact with an infected person.

Those coming from elsewhere still have to self-isolate for 14 days. Estonia then said several countries would not be affected by quarantine from 1 June, including Germany, France and Austria, and the Baltic trio resumed free movement with Poland from mid-June.

Belgium: Social bubble expanded further

Restrictions are slowly being lifted in a country that has seen a high number of deaths in care homes. The country unilaterally reopened its borders to all EU and Schengen zone countries on 15 June, as well as to the UK, and on 1 July entered phase four of easing restrictions

No major events such as festivals are allowed and no nightclubs are allowed to open.

Netherlands: Hairdressers and nail bars back in business

A drop in cases meant the country announced plans to ease measures would be brought forward.

Austria: Weddings and outdoor sport

Austria was one of the first countries to ease its lockdown. The health minister said the reopening of small shops in mid-April didn't cause a spike in cases. Borders have now been re-opened with all its neighbours, although on 1 July Austria issued a travel warning for six Balkan countries.

Spain: State of emergency officially ends

Spain outlined a four-stage plan on 4 May to start easing one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe, which saw children under 14 confined to their homes for six weeks.

On 1 June, Spain moved to a second phase for 70% of Spaniards, but Madrid, Barcelona and some other regions stayed under tighter phase-one restrictions.

The state of emergency officially ended on 21 June, restoring freedom of movement and reopening some borders. People must still stay 1.5 metres apart in public and wear masks on public transport and when shopping.

However, parts of northeastern Spain returned to phase two of lockdown easing in June after an outbreak of the virus among fruit pickers.

Republic of Ireland: Four phases and shops reopen

On 8 June Ireland's Phase 2 began, meaning all high street shops could reopen, while enforcing social distancing

Phase 3 started on 29 June, and phase 4 is due to begin on 20 July.

Limits on distances that people could travel were removed on 29 June

Schools will remain shut until September, while outdoor workers such as construction workers and gardeners resumed activities from 18 May;

Anyone arriving in Ireland has to go into self-isolation for 14 days

The limits on social gatherings including funerals are: groups of up to 50 indoors and 200 outdoors and outdoors while observing a 2m distance

Team sports with spectators, indoor gyms and swimming pools restarted from 29 June

Visitors to the UK from Ireland are exempt from the UK's two-week mandatory quarantine for international visitors, which began on 8 June

Switzerland: Museums and restaurants return

Portugal: Small, local businesses first

Portugal has had fewer coronavirus cases and deaths than some other south European nations.

The government announced a three-phase plan, reopening different sectors of the economy every 15 days.

However, on 22 June authorities had to reimpose restrictions in 15 neighbourhoods around Lisbon after local outbreaks. These included the return of an evening curfew and limiting gatherings to 10 people.

Small neighbourhood shops, hairdressers, car dealerships and bookshops started opening from 4 May

Bigger shops, restaurants, museums and coffee shops reopened from 18 May, but at reduced capacity

Infants and some secondary school students also went back on 18 May, while primary schools and pre-schools began reopening at the start of June

Shopping centres, cinemas and theatres were allowed to reopen at the start of June and beaches reopened on 6 June

The border with Spain reopened on 1 July

Greece: Tourism season officially begins

Greece recorded its first Covid-19 case on 26 February and the government acted swiftly to impose a lockdown. On 28 April, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a relaxation of lockdown measures in the weeks ahead, with a particular focus on opening up the country for the summer.

Russia: Starting to go back to work

President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia's nationwide lockdown was being eased from 12 May, and businesses could go back to work to stop unemployment rising further. He also said it was up to individual regions to decide the best policy. But Russia's daily infection rate remains high, compared with the rest of Europe.

Poland: Parks and forests first to reopen

In Poland, Covid-19 numbers are lower than in many Western European countries. Although it largely escaped the worst pandemic, there was an outbreak at coal mines in the industrial heartland of Upper Silesia in early June. Poland began lifting restrictions on 20 April, when parks and forests were allowed to reopen.

Sweden: Strict measures never imposed

Restaurants, bars, schools and businesses remained opened. But it did ban gatherings of more than 50 people

Sweden has recorded over 4,000 deaths, the highest per capita number in the Nordic region

When Denmark and Norway agreed to reopen their borders to each other, from 15 June, Sweden was left out because of its high rate of infection. Just one county in Sweden was assessed by Denmark as safe to travel to in late June, Vasterbotten in the north.

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Coronavirus: How lockdown is being lifted across Europe

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Here is how Europeans are emerging from life under lockdown. Germany: Opening up with 'emergency brake' Foreign minister Heiko Maas lifted a travel ban for EU member states and specified European countries including the UK.

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AIM - Association of Independent Museums

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The Coronavirus Covid-19 NMDC Good Practice Guidelines on the Reopening of Museums after July 4, 2020 (hereafter Guidelines) has been developed by the National Museum Directors' Council (NMDC) Planning and Remobilisation Group with support from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and contributions from across the museum sector, including AIM. It is intended for use by museums in England.

Alongside this, a checklist has been produced by AIM and the Museum Development Network (MDN) to be used in conjunction with the Guidelines and to help museums take a strategic, well informed approach to making decisions on reopening and implementing a safe and effective plan in conjunction with the national guidance for museums.

You can work through the AIM / MDN checklist via the links below.

The checklist does not tell you exactly how your reopened museum should operate - individual circumstances will vary enormously - it is intended to help you develop your reopening plans and provides you with a methodology to follow.

Depending on the nature of your operation, you may also look to draw on other government guidance. The Guidelines references other guidance relevant to museums, including that for heritage, workplaces, shops and accessing green spaces.
AIM/MDN Checklist
Introduction
Step 1 - Consult
Step 2 - Assess risk
Step 3 - Check financial viability
Step 4 - Plan
Step 5 - Communicate with staff and volunteers
Step 6 - Check in on wellbeing
Step 7 - Communicate with visitors
Step 8 - Use your local network
Step 9 - Use museum networks
Step 10 - Be flexible
FAQs
Resources
Coronavirus COVID-19 NMDC Good Practice Guidelines for Reopening Museums after 4th July 2020
Download AIM/MDN Checklist as a pdf document.
Download AIM/MDN Checklist infographic.

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Museum Reopening Guidance and Checklist - AIM - Association of Independent Museums

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The Coronavirus Covid-19 NMDC Good Practice Guidelines on the Reopening of Museums after July 4, 2020 (hereafter Guidelines) has been developed by the National Museum Directors' Council (NMDC) Planning and Remobilisation Group with support from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and contributions from across the museum sector, including AIM.

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Museums Reopening after 4th July checklist

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Museums Reopening after 4th July checklist

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Good Practice Guidelines for Museums Reopening after 4th July

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Good Practice Guidelines for Museums Reopening after 4th July

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Coronavirus: how museums and galleries are preparing for the ‘new normal’

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Coronavirus: how museums and galleries are preparing for the ‘new normal’

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The announcement by UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, that a range of public spaces in England, including museums and art galleries, will be allowed to open on July 4 has everyone in the cultural sector working furiously to create a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment to entice people back in.

But they face many challenges. On top of the swingeing cuts to arts funding across the nations against which cultural providers have battled for decades, there is now the imperative to provide more inclusive and stimulating content to persuade audiences to return.

We're lucky in Scotland in that we have a bit longer to work on this than our counterparts in England, but the issues remain the same. How can we make spaces as safe as possible while maintaining a welcoming atmosphere? And who is going to pay for these adjustments? How can we maintain the quality of our offerings and create content that is so compelling and engaging and inclusive that people will flock to see it despite the inconvenience of safety restrictions?

Social media has been vital to the way many people are navigating their way through lockdown, and the cultural sector - populated as it is with innovative and creative people - has risen to the occasion. One of the most successful and widely emulated initiatives was the Getty Museum's online challenge to people to create their own copy of an artwork using easily reached objects and members of their household.

When the lockdown started, many museums, galleries and theatres moved quickly to get huge swaths of activity online. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, for example, has really finessed its online offering. At my university in Dundee, the world-renowned Cooper Gallery at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design had programmed a cutting-edge exhibition project with Laura Mulvey. The plan was to examine her work with her collaborator, the avant-garde filmmaker Peter Wollen, who passed away in December 2019 at the age of 81. We were unable to open the exhibition because of lockdown. Principal curator Sophia Hao developed an online programme of events that has explored the work in an immersive and participatory way including live-streamed talks and writing projects.

Engaging in the virtual space

Online access to vast collections of artworks and magnificent performances has been a genuine joy to many people for whom the loss of access to culture would otherwise have been depressing. The fact that this work is now available to a much wider audience than can actually physically go to the galleries has meant that many non-traditional audiences are now able to engage with work that they would otherwise never have come across. I hope that this taster has encouraged many more people to really explore a new range of artistic and cultural offerings that they previously considered not to be for them.

Of course, those without access to fast broadband and up-to-date technology are still out in the cold. Access to free, inclusive, location-based engagement projects that are such an important part of the work of all museums and galleries has been cut off.

Safe - and sound

At the top of everyone's agenda is of course safety. Maintaining physical restrictions with clear, accessible signage outlining lanes and one-way systems should be simple enough for creative exhibition designers. But it's going to take a lot more to earn audience confidence.

In Dundee, the main players in the cultural sector including V&A Dundee, Dundee Contemporary Arts, both universities and the city council are working collaboratively to create strategic plans for the reopening of venues.

As well as developing clear messages about the value of culture to society and the economy as well as public health and communities, we are working on practical solutions to some of the issues. For example, building on a University of Dundee initiative to engage the local crafting community to create scrubs and masks for NHS workers a project is in development to commission local craft makers and small businesses to make masks for the cultural and tourist venues in the city. This will not only support self-employed practitioners to earn, but it will hopefully normalise the wearing of masks and facilitate a caring and community focused atmosphere in arts spaces.

Building audience confidence is a huge part of the equation, but it must be complemented by a renewed and innovative sense of purpose among curators and producers. There is an imperative to decolonise the way we display museum collections and programme exhibitions and theatrical productions and we must focus far more on accessibility, inclusion, equality and diversity. Alongside this, there is a need to create genuinely engaging content that will be strong, exciting and relevant enough to make it worthwhile coming out of lockdown bubbles.

Read more: Director of science at Kew: it's time to decolonise botanical collections

Let's just hope that funding is allocated to make this transition possible and that the multifaceted benefits of engagement with the arts are recognised as the essential element of the human experience that we know it to be. If anyone can come up with innovative designs to deal with these issues, it's a sector that is populated by some of the most creative people in the country.

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Coronavirus: how museums and galleries are preparing for the 'new normal'

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The announcement by UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, that a range of public spaces in England, including museums and art galleries, will be allowed to open on July 4 has everyone in the cultural sector working furiously to create a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment to entice people back in.

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These new grants aim to help museums, galleries and cultural organisations respond to immediate challenges connected to the Covid-19 crisis, and offer support to adapt and reimagine ways of working for the future.

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National Lottery Community Funding Programme

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National Lottery Community Funding Programme

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COVID-19 has changed the way we live and work in our communities

The pandemic has caused a great deal of hardship,  and presented new challenges to communities across the UK. It has also created space for changes and new ways of doing things that we might not have thought of before.

So we'd like to support communities to consider how they can start the transition from the immediate crisis, towards recovery and renewal.

We want to invest in the creativity of civil society and help amplify the voices of communities through stories, narratives and public imagination projects that can lead to new ideas, questions and visions of the future. We value the power of storytelling and we know that people and communities are able to use stories and narratives to talk about ideas for the future and how to get there, as well as practical ways that can help us move toward recovery and renewal.

We'd like to give communities support to shape the future

To help communities shape the future, we'd like to give you funding to explore questions, use stories and create narratives about what your community has learned in how it's responded to the challenges of COVID-19, and reflect on what else your community might want for the future. For example, this could be about looking at new ways of working or kinds of relationships that communities have set up through their crisis response.

We want communities to explore

what they want to keep doing because it's been working well

what they want to leave behind as they start thinking about moving into recovery and renewal

any new ideas that will help when it comes to rebuilding and renewal.

We also want communities to help shape what should be done next

By giving you this funding to ask these questions now, you'll be helping shape what needs to be done next to support communities. We know that more investment will be needed in the long-term. But these grants offer a way for communities to have informed what that looks like.

You can read our blog to find out more about the background of The Emerging Futures Fund and why we want to fund this type of work.

We're looking to fund 3 different types of work:

1. Exploring new narratives, perspectives and community storytelling

What we mean by stories and narratives
In a story something happens to someone or something. Stories usually also have a beginning, middle and end. Narratives hold together collections of related stories.

It's possible to use stories and narratives to create changes in society. This is because they shape the way we think about, feel and connect with other people. People and communities can use stories to talk about their ideas for the future and how to get there. Read more about stories and narratives.

We want to fund projects that can create narratives that:

A typical project that we'd want to fund might be an organisation with demonstrable experience in narrative practice and storytelling, working in partnership with a group of civil society organisations who have stories to tell and insights to share about how they are responding to and changing through the COVID-19 crisis.

We're looking for organisations or partnerships that  can show:

an understanding of best practice in when it comes to narrative approaches

how to segment audiences

experience of revealing insights about local communities

experience of using storytelling, narrative and framing methods to influence change

how they draw on different approaches to ensure there are no barriers to anyone that wants to participate

how they enable voices that are often heard less, to be at the centre of stories

experience of working with impacted communities

how they work in the open, and how they document and share learning as they go.

2. Community foresight and public imagination

What we mean by community foresight and public imagination
Sometimes it can be difficult to stop thinking about the present. This can make it harder for communities to shape how things will look in the future, or think about possibilities we haven't imagined before.

To successfully design for a future, it can help to have a picture of that future - and people trained in community foresight and public imagination can help to do that. Read more about community imagination, social dreaming and social imagination.

We want to fund projects that:

A typical project that we'd want to fund might be an organisation with demonstrable experience in foresight, futures or social imagination methods working with a range of different people and voices in a community or with a network of civil society organisations.

We're looking for organisations or partnerships that can show:

3.  Investing in strong signals of transformation

We want to fund projects that:

can show practical ways about where we go from here

need resource to develop their idea so that when the time is right the idea is more likely to be adopted

can show us why they think the time is right for their idea

can show us how they've responded to different challenges - like different patterns of work, community togetherness and the valuing of relationships.

A typical project that we'd look to fund might be an idea for new types of community infrastructure that can support the groundswell of local initiative and care that sprung up through the Covid-19 crisis. Or a project to develop new forms of work which are good for people, purpose and capabilities.

We're looking for organisations or partnerships that:

have an idea that's already being tested but needs more funding

have an idea that shows where we need to go from here

enable voices that are often heard less, to be at the centre of stories

work in the open, and will document and share learning as they go.

We expect that the projects we fund might create a range of different outputs, such as:

films

audio or podcasts

written pieces

slide deck

booklets

newspapers

different kinds of shareable content (such as GIFs or Twitter cards)

toolkits

online murals

website platforms.

But these are only a few ideas.

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The Emerging Futures Fund  | The National Lottery Community Fund

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The pandemic has caused a great deal of hardship,  and presented new challenges to communities across the UK. It has also created space for changes and new ways of doing things that we might not have thought of before.    So we'd like to support communities to consider how they can start the transition from the immediate crisis, towards recovery and renewal.

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UK Museums reopening 4th July, but is it too soon

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UK Museums reopening 4th July, but is it too soon

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The UK government has set out plans allowing museums and galleries in England to reopen from 4 July as part of an easing of lockdown measures. The move was welcomed by the directors of six national museums, including Tate and the National Gallery, who issued a joint statement.

"We welcome the Prime Minister's announcement to allow the safe reopening of our galleries to the public this summer. We will now work closely with government, trade unions and supporters to see how and when we can open our doors again in a financially sustainable manner, for the long term," say the directors (Maria Balshaw, Tate; Ian Blatchford, Science Museum Group; Mike Dixon, Natural History Museum; Gabriele Finaldi, National Gallery; Hartwig Fischer, British Museum; Tristram Hunt, Victoria and Albert Museum).

Museums resonate especially now, taking on "a role of particular significance as we reflect on current debates around crucial issues including racial equality, social justice, and climate change", they add.

However, none of the national museums have confirmed reopening dates so far though most are expected to announce their post-lockdown relaunch plans in the next two weeks. "We are delighted the government is saying museums can reopen but we don't have specific dates," says a spokeswoman for the British Museum.

The precarious predicament of museums and galleries remains a concern in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. "The lockdown closures have hit museums' finances incredibly hard; some may never reopen and for those who can, social distancing measures will drastically limit visitor numbers and associated income that make them economically viable," says Jenny Waldman, director of the Art Fund charity. The two-metre social distancing rule will be abandoned from 4 July.

Alistair Brown, policy manager at UK Museums Association, tweeted: "Great that museums will be able to open again soon. But with limited visitor numbers, no international tourism and still no long-term rescue package, huge problems remain for the sector."

Other institutions in the capital and countrywide are nonetheless starting to firm up plans.

The Whitechapel Gallery in London aims to open its doors early July with five exhibitions including Radical Figures: Painting in the New Millennium and In the Eye of Bambi (La Caixa Collection), which will be extended until the end of August.

"Galleries are the perfect spaces in this situation as people do not have to congregate and can move freely around the works," says Iwona Blazwick, the Whitechapel Gallery's director, adding that appropriate safety and hygiene measures will be in place. "The staff will wear face visors made by the technical team at Goldsmiths College," she adds, stressing that "there is both an ethical imperative to open in our duty to artists and the public as well as a financial one."

Serpentine Galleries in Kensington Gardens will have a phased relaunch from 4 August with the Cao Fei: Blueprints exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery due to open first, a spokeswoman says.

The Hepworth Wakefield in West Yorkshire plans to open from 1 August. "The Bill Brandt/Henry Moore exhibition has been extended until 1 November, so people can pre-book their tickets to see that exhibition from 1 August," says a spokeswoman.

Pallant House Gallery in Chichester, which focuses on British art from 1900 to today, will reopen in August, providing government advice does not change in the interim, says its director Simon Martin.

"There's a lot to get in place with the new systems, rehanging collections, and maintenance of buildings, but also the bringing back of staff and volunteers; an issue for independent museums and charities is that a lot of elderly volunteers are in the shielding category, and so we need to recruit new volunteers including people for a young persons' programme," he says.

Meanwhile, the Royal Academy of Arts in London, which receives no government subsidy, is currently working on its reopening plans. "This is dependent on government advice and we will announce details in due course," a spokeswoman says.

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UK museums can reopen from 4 July-but for some it's too soon

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The UK government has set out plans allowing museums and galleries in England to reopen from 4 July as part of an easing of lockdown measures. The move was welcomed by the directors of six national museums, including Tate and the National Gallery, who issued a joint statement.

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DCMS Museums and Galleries Sector: Coronavirus bulletin

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DCMS Museums and Galleries Sector: Coronavirus bulletin

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The new rules for days out at theme parks and museums

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The new rules for days out at theme parks and museums

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Theme parks, museums and leisure centres are working out how they could re-open safely, as lockdown restrictions ease in the UK.

Even riding on a roller coaster is going to require a facemask and social distancing when attractions open up again. Blackpool's Pleasure Beach has decided that, on a ride on which people scream, visitors will be more comfortable if they are made to mask up.

It is also going to be a less sociable experience - the seats on its Icon ride are only a metre apart so there will be empty rows to allow social distancing.

After the opening of shops, Britain's leisure and cultural attractions are preparing for a government announcement that they too will be allowed to re-open.

However, it will be months before many venues will be in a position to allow the public in again. A report from the Creative Industries Federation says 400,000 jobs are at risk and the cultural and creative economy is losing more than £1bn a week in revenue.

It's this dire situation that is driving planning to ensure institutions will be able to re-open quickly once the government gives the green light.

Museums will be some of the first spaces to re-open their doors but it will be a different experience.

The Design Museum in London is removing its ticket desks and is moving to an online ticketing system to avoid the need for physical tickets and queues. There will also be a strict 90-minute time limit to reduce crowding and everyone will be directed along a one-way route.

Toilets will be one in, one out.

It will be a similar experience at hundreds of other venues. James Adebayo, a property consultant, has been advising on how to make socially distanced spaces. There are, he says, a series of measures that will become commonplace.

Venues will increasingly have designated viewing points with limits on how long you can linger. And there will in many places be strict one-way systems to stop dawdling and bumping in to fellow visitors.

Every one of them will do things slightly differently but here is a list of things you could well experience on a day out.

1. Ticket only - Even free museums are looking at introducing online ticketing to ensure that crowding is eliminated. Most places will no longer allow you to just wander in.

2. Limited numbers - The number of people is going to be strictly limited to allow social distancing.

3. Viewing points - There will be controls over how and where you can stop and linger.

4. One-way - We have got used to queuing on marked out points, many museums and galleries will direct where and how you walk around.

5. Time controls - Tickets will be for set arrival times. Also, some places will have to find a way to move people through a venue, so prepare for limits to how long you will be allowed to linger.

6. Plastic - Staff will increasingly be protected behind screens.

7. Toilets - One in, one out will become common. One reason to make visits swifter will be to reassure people who don't want to touch handles, taps or flushes.

8. Food - Cafes and kiosks will be limited. Bringing your own lunch or booking your food via a phone app will become more common.

9. Late night opening - With venues having to limit numbers the only way of meeting demand and breaking even will mean that many have to extend opening hours.

Of course, this will only affect venues and attractions which can control the public. Some, such as live music venues, which rely on crowds standing together face a much longer wait and a huge hole in their revenue.

Follow us on Facebook or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk

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Coronavirus: The new rules for the 'day out'

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Theme parks, museums and leisure centres are working out how they could re-open safely, as lockdown restrictions ease in the UK. Even riding on a roller coaster is going to require a facemask and social distancing when attractions open up again.

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AIM Webinar 19th June Preparing to reopen: case studies from independent museums

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AIM Webinar 19th June Preparing to reopen: case studies from independent museums

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Preparing to reopen: case studies from independent museums (Full)

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ETOA Webinar 19th June London - Scope for recovery

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ETOA Webinar 19th June London - Scope for recovery

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London - Scope for Recovery

19th June 2020

London stands alongside Paris as one the foremost tourism cities in Europe. A major attraction in its own right, it is also vital gateway to Europe for incoming visitors.

That it is currently closed removes one of the most important components of the European tourism offer. The 6 million visitors that the British Museum receives every year is more than visit Venice. Without London, both the UK and Europe loses a major attraction.

Tourism is also vital for London. Foreign visitors accounted for approximately £16 billion of spending in 2019. This underpins not only hotels and attractions, but also shops restaurants and pubs. Tourists are the lifeblood of the capital's service economy. How London can restore tourism flows is crucial to its future and the future European tourism. It will also serve as a template for other tourism cities elsewhere.

This panel explored the impact that the current crisis has had on the tourism infrastructure of the capital, when we might be able to plan a resumption of activity and what tourism might look like in the future.

Panellists:

Tony Travers, Professor, London School of Economics

Jace Tyrrell, CEO, New West End Company

Moderator:

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ETOA Webinar | London - Scope for Recovery : ETOA - European tourism association | 1,200+ members

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London stands alongside Paris as one the foremost tourism cities in Europe. A major attraction in its own right, it is also vital gateway to Europe for incoming visitors. That it is currently closed removes one of the most important components of the European tourism offer.

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ALVA Webinar 12th June: Hearing how Reopening went, learning lessons from UK museums and historic gardens

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ALVA Webinar 12th June: Hearing how Reopening went, learning lessons from UK museums and historic gardens

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Simple, modern video meetings for the global workforce. Join from anywhere, including your desktop, browser, mobile device, or video room device.

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Museums, heritage sites begin to slowly open doors as Covid-19 restrictions ease

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Museums, heritage sites begin to slowly open doors as Covid-19 restrictions ease

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The 2020 tourist season will look a bit different for museums and heritage sites, as staff and visitors adjust to new COVID-19 policies.

Due to concerns surrounding the spread of the virus, many year-round museums had to temporarily close and seasonal museums delayed or cancelled openings. As conditions change, many public places have been given permission to open with new safety procedures in place.

For The Rooms in St. John's, this includes arrows to guide visitors, plexiglass protection for those working at the ticket desk and ticket timing to ensure the entrance isn't crowded.

"There'll also be the same kind of signage and social distancing reminders, that you see in lots of other places; we're making sure that people wash their hands and stay at least six feet apart from other visitors," said Kate Wolforth, The Rooms director of museums and galleries.

Above, Mary Pat Mombourquette, executive director of the Cape Breton Miners Museum in Glace Bay, is pictured in front of the facility. TOM AYERS / CAPE BRETON BUREAU PHOTO - Contributed

The Rooms, which is scheduled to open on June 29, is also increasing the amount of sanitization stations and limiting what visitors can touch.

"We will be removing any kind of touch screen or putting signage over any kind of interactive device that people usually used, so those won't be available or we'll be providing another way to access that information," said Wolforth. "Things that can't be cleaned, we'll be removing or making inaccessible for people."

Similar policies will be followed at The Rooms regional sites in Grand Banks, Grand Falls-Windsor and North West River, Labrador, which are scheduled to open around or after June 29. Some museums in Newfoundland, like the Provincial Historic Sites, will have a "phased opening" said Gillian Marx, media relations - North America for Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism in an email. These sites are scheduled to open sometime in July. According to the province's website, policies include using contactless and or cashless payments when possible, having staff in galleries and rooms to ensure social distancing and using non-medical masks if social distancing isn't possible.

In Prince Edward Island, Orwell Corner Historic Village opened on June 1. Jason MacNeil, the site manager, said their current focus is group visits.

"We are bringing family groups through one at a time, 15 minutes apart, to make sure that they arrive in the group and they maintain social distance from any other group that are going through the site," he said.

While the Village is a large site, activities where social distancing is difficult have been cancelled. Some events can still go ahead, with staff monitoring in place, like New Life on the Farm, which features interactions with baby animals. Others, like blacksmithing, are being restricted to older participants for safety reasons.

The Miners Village at the Miners Museum in Cape Breton will have new restrictions in place for those entering the buildings on site. CONTRIBUTED - Contributed

"We can't have younger children with a hot iron in front of a fire. We have done that in the past because we were right there beside them helping hold the piece of iron and helping them forge it," said MacNeil.

Site staff are also making sure to sanitize and clean any highly touched surfaces. For artifacts that can't be cleaned due to their age, MacNeil said they've been moved out of reach.

Orwell Corner is part of the Prince Island Museum and Heritage Foundation. All of their sites are expected to open by July 1.

Museums in Nova Scotia are following protocols similar to other provinces. Many don't have a set opening date yet, which includes both provincial and privately-funded museums.

"The Nova Scotia Museum is working with its sites to create plans for re-opening that address the public health directives," said Sarah Levy MacLeod, media relations officer with Communities Culture and Heritage, in an emailed statement. "We are also working with the Association of Nova Scotia Museums to provide our templates and guidance to the many other operators in the province."

The Cape Breton Miners Museum is scheduled to open on June 28. Mary Pat Mombourquette, the museum's executive director, hired staff back on June 1 to start prepping, which includes a vigorous cleaning routine in all public areas.

One such procedure involves the handling of mining capes and helmets

"We've done away with the capes, but we have clean helmets put in one area and dirty helmets in another so we can clean them after each use," she said. "We have really strict protocols. Anything a visitor touches, once they touch t, is out of commission and has to be cleaned.

Other measures include having plexiglass in place at the front desk, wrapping credit and debit machines in plastic and wiping them down after each use and arrows to direct visitor traffic. Mombourquette hopes they will be able to do mine tours, but that's only if they are able to keep staff and visitors safe.

"We can do social distancing with a much smaller group . . . like eight people on a tour, which would be a lovely tour; it would be really, really personal," she said "What I'd really like to do, because the mine guide is talking, he can't wear a mask, is to provide masks to visitors."

As for Parks Canada sites, there wasn't a spokesperson available to talk specifically or generally about those locations. Megan Damini, media relations for Parks Canada did provide an email statement. Operations "gradually" began resuming on June 1, with camping sites being closed until at least June 21.

"Parks Canada is (also) asking visitors to respect two-metre physical distancing and enhanced hygiene requirements at Parks Canada places as we re-open," said Damini. "Visitors are also asked to be self-sufficient when they visit and pack extra hygiene supplies such as hand sanitizer, wipes and a tablecloth, and bring their own water and food."

Staff measures include protective equipment and training to ensure jobs are done efficiently and safely.

While there may be a change in numbers this year due to travel restrictions, many sites and facilities would like to see an increase in local tourism. Wolforth said she hopes families will get out and do something a little different, while also getting "perspective in a really challenging time."

"We recognize this has been a difficult time; it's even been a traumatic time and places like museums are places you can go to get perspective on the past," she said "You can go and see how previous generations maybe dealt with similar crises and gain some strength from that."

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In these unprecedented times, as millions of people around the globe plan to remain indoors for an indefinite amount of time, staying home from work and school means an abundance of extra time on their hands. But even if you're confined to your home, discovering art and history from the world's top institutions around the globe doesn't have to be off-limits. Google Arts & Culture has teamed up with over 2,500 museums and galleries around the globe to create virtual tours and extraordinary content. While no digital platform can quite capture the magic and awe of strolling through a museum in person, Google's art digitization project is the next best thing. Here, 10 museums around the globe to visit virtually.

With its grand front steps, sprawling rooms full of antiquities and paintings, and its lavish Met Gala costume party, the Met in New York City is one of the world's most revered institutions. While this year's Met Gala is on hold, the Costume Institute collection is still available to peruse on a rotating basis, along with the rest of the near-infinite collections. The couture works of Elsa Schiaparelli and Christian Dior are currently featured, as well as in-depth gigapixel (or one-billion-pixel) examinations of Vermeer's Woman With a Water Pitcher and Bruegel the Elder's Harvesters. Google also deployed its Street View technology to take viewers on a tour through the Temple of Dendur and other popular spots inside the museum.

While the Bauhaus school was founded in 1919 and ceased operations in 1933, the years the groundbreaking German art and design school spent in Dessau-1925 to 1932-are widely considered its heyday. A virtual scrapbook takes visitors on a light-hearted journey through life as a Bauhaus student, from the student digs to the legendary parties. Viewers also learn that the school, despite its name, did not originally have an architecture department. It soon did develop one, though, thus becoming synonymous with modernist architecture and its merging of form and function.

Located on the banks of the Seine in Paris, the Musée d'Orsay is famed for its vast collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings, as well as the grandeur of the Beaux-Arts structure itself. Digital visitors can learn how the museum came to be, from its origins as a railway station for the Universal Exhibition of 1900, through to its modern iteration as a world-class institution. Master works by the likes of Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, and Seurat are highlighted along the way.

Google's Street View gives an impressive tour of the Guggenheim's iconic spiral rotunda, a landmark of modern architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright, without you ever having to step foot on Fifth Avenue. Also available to browse is a smorgasbord of exhibitions from recent years, ranging from Matthew Barney's Cremaster series and Maurizio Cattelan's explorations of satire, to the vibrant glassworks of Josef Albers and a colorful collection of contemporary works from Latin America.

King Louis XIV installed the French court and the royal residence in the Palace of Versailles in 1682. Until the French Revolution a century later, assorted kings took turns embellishing the palace into the gilded, over-the-top spectacle that it still is today. The Hall of Mirrors, Royal Opera, Grand Trianon, and those spotless, sculpted gardens can all be found online in great detail, along with the dwellings of its most notorious resident, Marie Antionette.

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10 of the world's leading museums you can explore online - Architectural Digest Middle East

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In these unprecedented times, as millions of people around the globe plan to remain indoors for an indefinite amount of time, staying home from work and school means an abundance of extra time on their hands. But even if you're confined to your home, discovering art and history from the world's top institutions around the globe doesn't have to be off-limits.

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The director of the MCA Chicago explains how the museum sector is adapting to the lockdown era—and what long-term changes may result.

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The director of the MCA Chicago explains how the museum sector is adapting to the lockdown era—and what long-term changes may result.

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In a Post-COVID World, What Museums Do Outside Their Walls Will Become as Important as What They Put on Them

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Museums are catalysts of culture. They generate new ideas and experiences that influence the choices we make both as individuals and across society. Yet in many discussions of museums, what often gets overlooked is their economic impact.

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Eight ways museums could make the most of the coronavirus crisis

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Eight ways museums could make the most of the coronavirus crisis

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The challenges facing the cultural sector as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic are so serious and multifaceted that we are still trying to map the landscape, never mind cross it. So it may seem in questionable taste to start hunting for opportunities. But if museums emerge from this crisis with their old structures and behaviours intact-if they fail to seize this sudden fluidity to make changes-this would be a graver error than any breach of etiquette. Here, then, for consideration are eight such opportunities that a number of senior figures in American art museums recently identified in a series of interviews, in approximately ascending order of ambition.

Adopt new metrics of success

Museum leaders have long complained that using visitor figures as a key performance indicator distorts and trivialises. Yet it is still the statistic most frequently cited by and about museums (with this publication's annual survey, Art's Most Popular, a closely read report card). The pandemic has created a situation in which the health and safety of visitors and staff are at odds with record-breaking attendance, and the future of international travel is uncertain. The debate has already been fought and won: broader metrics focusing on the quality of the visitor experience are readily available. Intellectual rigour is now conveniently aligned with institutional self-interest.

Be more strategic about exhibitions...

Forward planning of temporary exhibitions has ground to a halt. Travel itineraries have been suspended, contractual obligations abandoned with surprisingly little acrimony and plans for exhibition development put on hold. This gives museums the breathing space-and impetus-for a more strategic approach to exhibitions. What does this mean in practice? First, ensuring that plans are driven more by institutional goals than curatorial interests (though one would hope there was plenty of overlap). Second, that exhibition ideas are more thoroughly reviewed as they progress, like the greenlighting process in film development. Third, that permanent collections figure more prominently in the selection of themes and objects. Fourth, that the sheer volume is turned down.

... and education programmes

There are good reasons why museum education can tend towards the anarchic. Funders often have an agenda that exercises a strong gravitational pull-programming may have to follow the money. It is also easier to say "yes" than "no" to enthusiastic, poorly remunerated staff with their own agendas, especially when programmes are low on the PR radar and formal evaluation is intermittent. And while museums have sought to compensate for the withdrawal of public funding for arts education, there remains a vast mismatch between the ocean of unmet needs and anything any museum can do to fill them. The result can be a smorgasbord of micro-initiatives. At a time when resources are constrained and many funders are relaxing restrictive grant conditions, focused programmes with clear, measurable goals will have a stronger rationale.

Engage your neighbourhood

The positioning of cultural institutions as "community anchors" alongside educational and health institutions has gained currency over the past decade, as the arts have embraced a role in place-making. This comes with a whole set of agendas for deep engagement in local economic and social development. Museums generally are somewhat behind the performing arts, and art museums perhaps more so. Engaging deeply with the community in the few square miles around the museum would appear to be not only aligned with the zeitgeist but, now, a rational strategy in a period in which cultural tourism is likely to be in retreat.

Deepen local partnerships

Right now, there is an unprecedented level of collegiality between cultural organisations in given localities. The need to figure out the logistical complexities of reopening, the wide variation in local circumstances and the strong instinct to huddle, given the sheer weirdness of the situation, have all pushed in the same direction. This offers opportunities for partnership beyond co-ordinated reopening-to revisit the sort of back-office sharing that was explored in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and then largely dropped. But also for more profound partnerships in areas such as education and public programming, where local and regional cultural coalitions can take on agendas that are beyond the reach of single institutions.

Nurture the virtual community

Constraints on physical travel have led to a stampede of online initiatives to retain contact with audiences. The positive side is that museums with great content are building virtual communities that extend well beyond their physical visitors faster than they could have imagined pre-pandemic. These are new audiences with which they will want to develop enduring online relationships. However, we are also drowning in online content of variable quality unsupported by anything approaching sustainable business models. This is the moment when the significance of virtual audiences for the fulfilment of museums' missions can be more fully and permanently recognised, and institutional priorities realigned to reflect that reality.

Recalibrate the organisational culture

Museums are conservative institutions with conservative cultures, appropriately so. Their primary obligation is the stewardship of the objects in their care, and as non-profits, they have governance structures that prioritise fiduciary responsibility over entrepreneurial risk-taking. But this can also make them sclerotic, siloed and hidebound. Strategic planning tends to emphasise the planning bit rather than the strategy bit, measuring progress against very concrete goals (such as capital campaign targets, new wings and endowed positions). But in the present chaotic environment, museums have had to abandon these milestones. Mission and values have become a better guide to action than strategic plans. In a time of rapid and almost certainly ongoing change, museums may want to prolong the nimbler, more pragmatic and less perfectionist modus operandi that has been forced upon them.

Harness art to reimagine society

Finally, and perhaps most fundamentally, museums have an opportunity to make a contribution to civic discourse that plays to their intrinsic strengths. It is obvious that many of our political and civic institutions have failed in the promotion of the interests of humanity and the planet. We are entering a period where questioning the status quo ante and its values and priorities is of existential importance. Artists and art museums-looking back to humanity's highest aspirations and forward in the imaginative processes that are at the core of artistic expression-can surely play a leading role in the framing of that broader debate. In this chaos, there is a mandate.

This article draws from conversations in early May 2020 with Richard Armstrong, director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Brian Kennedy, director of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem; Joe Martin Lin-Hill, deputy director of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; Xavier Salomon, chief curator of the Frick Collection, New York; and Julián Zugazagoitia, director of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City.

Adrian Ellis is a director of AEA Consulting and chairman of the Global Cultural Districts Network

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Comment | Eight ways museums could make the most of the coronavirus crisis

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The challenges facing the cultural sector as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic are so serious and multifaceted that we are still trying to map the landscape, never mind cross it. So it may seem in questionable taste to start hunting for opportunities.

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Liverpool BID Company alongside Marketing Liverpool are hosting a new Liverpool Visitor Economy panel where we will be discussing the gradual re-opening of Liverpool city centre on a Zoom webinar on Thursday 11 June, 12-1pm.
Following the success from our previous Liverpool Visitor Economy Panels, we have brought together a new panel to discuss the gradual reopening of retail and the wider visitor economy.

Our esteemed panel come from a range of industries who will also provide sector updates, take part in discussion and will be on hand to answer your questions.
Our panel includes:
You can submit your questions ahead of the panel via Twitter using #AskLiverpoolBID or via email info@liverpoolbidcompany.com and we'll answer them during the hour.

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Liverpool Visitor Economy Panel - Marketing Liverpool

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Liverpool BID Company alongside Marketing Liverpool are hosting a new Liverpool Visitor Economy panel where we will be discussing the gradual re-opening of Liverpool city centre on a Zoom webinar on Thursday 11 June, 12-1pm. Following the success from our previous Liverpool Visitor Economy Panels, we have brought together a new panel to discuss the gradual reopening of retail and the wider visitor economy.

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Guidance for reopening Irish visitor attractions

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Guidance for reopening Irish visitor attractions

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Spain: El Prado and Reina Sofia museums reopen in Madrid as COVID-19 restrictions ease

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Spain: El Prado and Reina Sofia museums reopen in Madrid as COVID-19 restrictions ease

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02:44

Madrid's iconic Museo del Prado and Reina Sofia museums opened up their doors to visitors on Saturday for the first time in around twelve weeks, as coronavirus restrictions ease in the city.

Art lovers were seen flocking to del Prado Museum, which had a curtain unveiling ceremony, to rejoice with the famous 'Las meninas' painting from Velazquez, as well as others heading to Reina Sofia Museum, to contemplate Pablo Picasso's famous Guernica. Visitors wearing face masks, having temperature checks and keeping a safe distance among them could be seen.

"We come regularly to this museum and on any given Tuesday, or Thursday morning is more empty than today but this reunion with the museum after so many months is something so pleasant that we're enjoying so much," stated visitor Javier.

According to reports, Museo del Prado, Resina Sofia, and Thyssen museums were scheduled to reopen alongside the National Library of Spain on Saturday, provided health and safety guidelines are enforced, such as limiting the number of visitors and designating different access and exit doors.

Spain, which is one of the hardest-hit countries in Europe by the coronavirus pandemic, has registered over 241,300 cases and 27,135 related deaths to virus thus far, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

02:44

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Madrid's iconic Museo del Prado and Reina Sofia museums opened up their doors to visitors on Saturday for the first time in around twelve weeks, as coronavirus restrictions ease in the city.

Art lovers were seen flocking to del Prado Museum, which had a curtain unveiling ceremony, to rejoice with the famous 'Las meninas' painting from Velazquez, as well as others heading to Reina Sofia Museum, to contemplate Pablo Picasso's famous Guernica. Visitors wearing face masks, having temperature checks and keeping a safe distance among them could be seen.

"We come regularly to this museum and on any given Tuesday, or Thursday morning is more empty than today but this reunion with the museum after so many months is something so pleasant that we're enjoying so much," stated visitor Javier.

According to reports, Museo del Prado, Resina Sofia, and Thyssen museums were scheduled to reopen alongside the National Library of Spain on Saturday, provided health and safety guidelines are enforced, such as limiting the number of visitors and designating different access and exit doors.

Spain, which is one of the hardest-hit countries in Europe by the coronavirus pandemic, has registered over 241,300 cases and 27,135 related deaths to virus thus far, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

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02:44 Madrid's iconic Museo del Prado and Reina Sofia museums opened up their doors to visitors on Saturday for the first time in around twelve weeks, as coronavirus restrictions ease in the city.

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How Europe's art world is welcoming back visitors

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How Europe's art world is welcoming back visitors

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Some of Europe's best known art museums are reopening after closing in March for the Covid-19 pandemic but it will be far from business as usual.

For most of these museums and galleries, it will be a matter of limiting visitor numbers, intensifying cleaning procedures and insisting all tickets be bought online in advance.

Normally at this time of year Amsterdam's huge and world-famous Rijksmuseum would have up to 12,000 visitors daily.

From this week that number will be strictly limited to 2,000 a day. But after weeks of unwanted closure the museum's director Taco Dibbits is delighted to be reopening even on a limited scale.

Several major public galleries around Europe have decided the arrival of June is the right time if not to fling open the doors at least to open them very carefully.

Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum and the Rembrandt House also reopen this week. Dibbits says the decision to open Dutch museums is a matter of government policy.

"But I think we all felt this was the time to give the people of the Netherlands their museums back, which are so much loved. The Rijksmuseum is open with our normal hours although I think for now there will not be many tourists.

"Every case is different, not just in the Netherlands, and we all have to find our own way to provide a safe experience for visitors. I think almost all museums will insist visitors buy a ticket in advance and keep to the slot they are given online.

"But once you are in our museum you are able to roam free and we are deliberately keeping our visitors to about 20% of what they would normally be. You still have to keep 1.5 metres from other people but we wanted to make the experience of the museum as normal as possible."

Among other important venues reopening this week is the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Bilbao in northern Spain. It too has been shut since the middle of March.

Initially it will only open from 2pm most days but it's coordinating with the city's Fine Arts Museum which will be open when the Guggenheim is closed. Its older but much smaller cousin, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice is also open again from this week.

And in Rome one of Europe's great cultural glories is viewable by tourists once more - the Sistine Chapel, whose ceiling was painted by Michelangelo from 1508.

For now visitors will need a face mask and will have their temperature taken when they enter the Vatican Museums. The Vatican authorities say there be will health workers on hand to help.

One of Europe's most gorgeously located galleries of modern art is Denmark's Louisiana Museum on the coast an hour from Copenhagen, looking across the water to Sweden. It reopened on Friday.

It benefits from an outside sculpture park, as well as the displays inside and was reopened last week by the Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Like virtually all the museums which reopen this week it wants people to book ahead online.

But Jan Hybertz Goricke of the museum says visitor numbers are generally about 2,500.

"So we will try to get people in even if they haven't pre-booked. I think all the museums which have reopened are going to find a way through the first weeks, trying to ensure visitors have an experience as good as possible."

The Louvre in Paris, possibly the world's most famous art museum, remains closed but it's scheduled to open on 6 July. The Louvre Lens, in eastern France, starts to reopen from this week.

All these changes are provisional: if Covid-19 starts to peak again it's possible some or all of these re-openings could be reversed. And in many places it will remain hard or impossible to visit these museums without pre-booking for months to come.

But this week art galleries and museums in certain European countries have something to celebrate at last.
Follow us on Facebook or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk .

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How Europe's art world is unlocking its doors

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Some of Europe's best known art museums are reopening after closing in March for the Covid-19 pandemic but it will be far from business as usual. For most of these museums and galleries, it will be a matter of limiting visitor numbers, intensifying cleaning procedures and insisting all tickets be bought online in advance.

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Hosteltur: Toda la información de turismo

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A las puertas de la temporada de verano, "la propensión a viajar de los españoles es baja y se sitúa entre un 7% y un 25%, en función de la tipología de viaje o transporte", según revela un informe de Deloitte sobre tendencias de consumo durante la crisis derivada de la COVID-19.

Tipologías de vacaciones

El hecho de que la propensión de viajar de los residentes en España durante los próximos tres meses se mueva en niveles del 7% al 25% "dista mucho de la intención habitual de los españoles en estas mismas fechas, que ronda aproximadamente el 75%", según apunta Deloitte.

Tal como muestra la infografía, esos porcentajes del 7% al 25% dependen en función de la tipología de viaje o transporte: crucero, tren, vuelo nacional, etc.

Por ejemplo, hay un mayor porcentaje de viajeros más dispuestos a viajar en tren (24%) que a tomar un vuelo doméstico (18%).

Por otra parte, un 25% de los encuestados estaría dispuesto a ir de vacaciones en los próximos tres meses alojándose en un hotel, frente a un 23% que optaría por alquilar una casa o un apartamento vacacional.

En cualquier caso, según sostiene Deloitte, "a medida que aumente la sensación de seguridad al alojarse en un hotel o tomar un avión, se elevará la intención de viajar y, por tanto también, la búsqueda de ofertas".

Mercados emisores

Por otra parte, y según revela el informe de Deloitte, en el ámbito internacional, los países emisores que representan el 50% del gasto turístico en España (Francia, Reino Unido, Estados Unidos e Italia) presentan una intención media a coger un vuelo internacional inferior al 15%.

Por ello, advierte la firma consultora, "es crítico no solo para el sector turístico sino también para la economía del país aumentar la propensión a viajar y, por ello, resulta vital que las autoridades garanticen la movilidad de los ciudadanos de manera segura. A medida que esto suceda, esta intención o propensión a viajar cambiará rápidamente".

"Por otro lado, existe otro factor que se debe considerar a la hora de trabajar en la recuperación: la lucha que iniciarán los países por preservar el turismo doméstico, lo cual impactaría directa y negativamente en España como país eminentemente receptor de turistas", apunta Deloitte,

Metodología

Para llevar a cabo este estudio para conocer las preocupaciones y tendencias de consumo durante la crisis derivada de la COVID-19, Deloitte está realizando encuestas simultáneas en 13 países: España, Italia, Francia, Alemania, Reino Unido, Países Bajos, Estados Unidos, Canadá, China, Japón, Corea del Sur, India y Australia.

En cada uno de ellos, la firma ha tomado una muestra de, aproximadamente, 1.000 encuestados por país, con un perfil demográfico representativo de la población.

" El estudio se actualizará cada dos semanas durante los próximos seis meses y, además, todos los resultados son volcados en un panel interactivo que Deloitte ha puesto a disposición de la sociedad para poder hacer seguimiento y consultar la evolución de los hábitos y tendencias de los consumidores", explica la compañía.

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Esto es lo que piensan ahora los españoles sobre si viajarán en verano | Economía

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A las puertas de la temporada de verano, "la propensión a viajar de los españoles es baja y se sitúa entre un 7% y un 25%, en función de la tipología de viaje o transporte", según revela un informe de Deloitte sobre tendencias de consumo durante la crisis derivada de la COVID-19.

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Unlocking the doors at Auckland Museum | #ReopenRun

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Global Museum Reopening Webinar   Clip 1 The Tracker   Mortice Consulting Limited

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Survey: Museums, museum professionals and COVID-19

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Survey: Museums, museum professionals and COVID-19

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ICOM and UNESCO release their full reports
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the activities of museums all over the world, threatening their financial survival and the livelihood of thousands of museum professionals.
To gather information on how the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak is affecting and will affect the cultural sector in the short and long term, ICOM launched a global survey to analyse the impact of lockdowns. The survey covered 5 themes: the current situation for museums and staff, predicted economic impact, digital and communication, museum security and conservation of collections, freelancer museum professionals.

The report has analysed almost 1,600 responses from museums and museum professionals, in 107 countries and across continents, which were collected between 7 April and 7 May 2020.

In parallel, UNESCO Report "Museums Around the World in the Face of COVID-19" (May 2020) contains the results of UNESCO's world-wide survey conducted on the impact of COVID-19 on museums. The report provides new insights into the numbers and key trends of museums around the world, the measures museums have taken in response to the pandemic and actions proposed for the aftermath of the crisis. The report underscores the resilience of museums, as well as the challenges they face in their efforts to continue to promote access to culture.

Read the full ICOM report

In April, almost all museums around the world were closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to 94,7 % of respondents.

During the lockdown, many museums enhanced their digital activities. Although almost half of the respondents replied that their museum already had a presence on social media or shared its collections online before the lockdowns, digital communication activities analysed by the survey increased for at least 15 % of the museums, and in particular social media activities increased for more than half of the museums that participated.

Most museum professionals worked remotely: in 84% of the museums that responded, at least part of the staff worked remotely during the lockdowns.

The situation for permanent employees seems comparatively stable. Still, in 6% of cases contracts were not renewed or terminated.

However, the situation for freelance museum professionals is alarming: 16,1 % of the respondents said they were temporarily laid off, and 22,6 % did not have their contracts renewed. The freelance sector is very fragile: 56,4 % of the respondents stated that they will have to suspend the payment of their own salary as a result of the crisis, 39,4 % said their firms will reduce staff.

Similarly, almost all museums around the world will reduce their activities because of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly one third of them will reduce staff, and more than one tenth may be forced to close permanently. 82,6 % of the respondents anticipate that museum programmes will have to be reduced and 29,8 % expect that the number of staff will have to be reduced. 12,8 % of participants fear that their museum might close.

The closures will particularly affect those regions where museums are recent and few and where structures are still fragile: in African, Asian and the Arab countries 24, 27 and 39 % respectively fear that museums may close, compared to only in 12% Latin America and the Caribbean, 10% North America and 8% Europe.

In general, security and conservation of heritage in museums continued throughout the lockdown: about 80 % of the respondents said that security and conservation measures were maintained or increased to cope with the lack of staff members onsite. However, in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean these measures were considered to be insufficient by almost 20 % of the respondents.

Once again, ICOM, representing the international museum community, calls on policy and decision-makers to urgently allocate relief funds to assist museums and their professionals, so that they can survive the crisis and continue their vital public service mission. The recovery of our economies and the healing process for our societies after the COVID-19 crisis will be long and complex. Museums, as key protagonists in local development and as incomparable places for people to meet and learn, will have an important role to play in rebuilding the local economy and repairing the social fabric of affected communities.

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Survey: Museums, museum professionals and COVID-19 - ICOM

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ICOM and UNESCO release their full reports The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the activities of museums all over the world, threatening their financial survival and the livelihood of thousands of museum professionals. To gather information on how the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak is affecting and will affect the cultural sector in the short and long term, ...

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Coronavirus: How lockdown is being lifted across Europe

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Coronavirus: How lockdown is being lifted across Europe

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After almost seven weeks of lockdown in the UK restrictions are being eased, but everywhere social distancing is the rule.

Across Europe, lockdown measures are being lifted cautiously, in phases. Businesses are reopening and many children are back in school. Here is how Europeans are emerging from life under lockdown.

Germany: Shops reopen and football resumes

Germany has begun opening up: control of lifting the lockdown will now be in the hands of Germany's 16 federal states. But Chancellor Angela Merkel has stressed that an ''emergency brake'' will be applied anywhere that sees a surge in new infections.

Bundesliga football matches resumed behind closed doors on Saturday 16 May - the first big European league to do so

Shops of all sizes are now allowed to reopen, with extra hygiene and social distancing measures

Shops smaller than 800m sq have been allowed to open since 20 April, alongside car dealerships, bicycle shops and bookshops

Schools have been partially reopened for young children and those taking exams

Border controls were eased on 15 May with Austria, France and Switzerland and will be lifted on 15 June

Two different households are now allowed to meet up with each other

Big public events like festivals are banned until at least the end of August

What did football's new reality look like?

Italy: Funeral gatherings and more travel permitted

Italy imposed a strict and lengthy lockdown on 7 March - initially in the north, then nationwide - with a ban on walking or exercising more than 200m (656ft) from home.

In early May, some restrictions were relaxed and people are now able to travel for longer distances, as well as visit their relatives in small numbers. Travel between regions and to and from the country will be allowed from 3 June.

Bars and restaurants reopened on 18 May, but hosting reduced numbers of diners, with tables further apart and plastic shields to separate customers

Hairdressers also reopened on 18 May, as did more shops, museums and libraries, and sports teams are able to hold group training

Catholic Church masses resumed from 18 May, but with strict social distancing and wearing of face masks

Funerals are now allowed with a maximum of 15 people attending, ideally outdoors

Schools will not reopen until September

Gyms and swimming pools reopened in most regions on 25 May, with strict social distancing rules, but not in Lombardy, the northern region at the epicentre of Italy's crisis

France: End to travel permits

France's strict lockdown was imposed on 17 March, with residents required to provide a travel permit justifying any outdoor trips. Since 11 May those restrictions have been eased.

Residents no longer have to provide travel certificates, and car journeys of up to 100km (62 miles) from home are now permitted. Longer trips still require a certificate.

The lockdown map shows France split in two, with four "red zones" including Paris keeping parks, gardens and schools for 11 to 18-year-olds shut for the time being

Primary schools and nurseries began reopening after 11 May and schools for 11 to 15 year-olds (collèges) in "green zones" on 18 May. A limit of 15 pupils is put on classrooms and masks are compulsory for older children. Schools for 15 to 18-year-olds (lycées) are not opening before June

All shops (bar Paris shopping centres) can now reopen; leisure centres and cemeteries can reopen but bars and restaurants will remain closed

Gatherings of fewer than 10 people are also permitted; the elderly and vulnerable are allowed out but must use common sense

Beaches have also begun reopening, the first on the Brittany coast and under tight restrictions

Lockdown bites poor as France eases grip

Baltic countries: The first 'travel bubble' in Europe

The three Baltic states - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia - have become the first countries in Europe to allow free movement again, but only with each other.

Since 15 May citizens and residents have been able to move freely across the three countries, provided they haven't travelled outside the Baltic states in the past two weeks, are not infected, and have not been in contact with an infected person.

Those coming from elsewhere still have to self-isolate for 14 days.

Baltic states open a pandemic 'travel bubble'

Ireland: Five steps and small summer weddings

Ireland has had a stricter lockdown than the UK, with residents only allowed to exercise within 2km (1.2 miles) of their homes. But a five-stage roadmap to reopen the country started on 18 May, with restrictions eased every three weeks.

Schools will remain shut until September, while outdoor workers such as construction workers and gardeners resumed activities from 18 May; you can meet friends or family in groups of up to four within 5km of home; anyone arriving in Ireland has to go into self-isolation for 14 days

Creches and nurseries will open for the children of essential workers from 29 June, and this will be extended to the children of other workers from 20 July

Social visits will be permitted to other households from 8 June, and from 29 June, people will be allowed to travel within a 20km radius of their homes

Weddings, baptisms and small social gatherings will be allowed from 20 July, but only for family and close friends

Shops selling non-essential items can open from 8 June if the number of staff and customers remains small, and larger premises can open from 29 June

Belgium: Four people in your social bubble

Restrictions are slowly being lifted in a country that has seen a high number of deaths in care homes.

Since 10 May, people in the same household have been allowed to receive visits from a group of up to four people

Fabric shops reopened on 4 May, as new regulations require all Belgians aged 12 or over to wear masks on public transport

Other shops reopened on 11 May, with strict social distancing

Schools resumed classes from 18 May, but no more than 10 children are allowed in each classroom

Markets, museums and zoos also reopened from 18 May. Markets are restricted to 50 stalls and museums and zoos have to have one-way systems and online ticketing with time slots

Hairdressers and beauty salons reopened on 18 May

Cafes and restaurants will start to open from 8 June

No public sporting or cultural events can take place before 30 June.

Why so many people are dying in Belgium

Netherlands: Hairdressers and nail bars back in business

The Netherlands imposed a far less strict lockdown than next-door Belgium. Prime Minister Mark Rutte unveiled a five-phase plan for easing lockdown restrictions, which kicked in from 11 May.

Libraries are open again and hairdressers, nail bars, beauticians, masseuses and occupational therapists went back to work from 11 May

Bars and restaurants will open to customers from 1 June for up to 30 guests inside and unlimited numbers outside, provide people maintain 1.5m distance. Cinemas, theatres and concert halls will also open subject to a 30-guest maximum, and face masks become mandatory on public transport the same day for anyone aged 13 and over

Secondary school pupils return to class on 2 June

Campsites and holiday parks can reopen from 1 July, as can theatres, restaurants and cinemas with up to 100 customers with social distancing

Larger events and contact sports may resume in September, along with sex clubs and saunas

Austria: Tourist attractions to reopen

Austria was one of the first countries to ease its lockdown. The health minister said the reopening of small shops in mid-April didn't cause a spike in cases.

Larger shops, shopping centres and hairdressers reopened in early May

Public parks, small shops, DIY stores and garden centres have been allowed to open since 14 April

Outdoor sport that can be socially distanced, such as tennis, golf and athletics, is now allowed

Gatherings of up to 10 people have been allowed since the start of May

Restaurants and cafes reopened from mid-May, while hotels, zoos, swimming pools and tourist attractions will open from the end of the month

Final-year school pupils returned to classes at the start of May

Denmark: Restrictions eased since mid-April

Denmark, one of the first European countries to announce a lockdown, started to ease restrictions in mid-April.

Day care centres and primary schools returned on 14 April, although parents and visitors are not allowed on school premises and children attend in shifts. Children aged 12-16 returned from 18 May, as well as exam students

Hairdressers, beauty and massage salons, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors reopened on 20 April

Professional sport is allowed behind closed doors, along with amateur sport under guidelines

Shopping centres reopened on 11 May with social distancing guidelines

Social gatherings are limited to 10 people

Cafes and restaurants reopened on 18 May, with social distancing, then cinemas, theatres, museums and art galleries reopened on 21 May also with social distancing

Borders remain shut

Phase 3 starts on 8 June and covers museums, cinemas, indoor sports and colleges

Phase 4 in early August will include gyms, swimming pools and nightclubs

Danes rush for haircuts as lockdown eases

Spain: Schools to remain shut until September

Spain outlined a four-stage plan on 4 May to start easing one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe, which saw children under 14 confined to their homes for six weeks.

The easing is happening in two-week blocks until 10 June, but not everywhere at the same time. Restrictions in Madrid, Barcelona, Granada and Málaga were eased from 25 May.

Face masks are compulsory for anyone aged six and over in public, both inside and outside, if it isn't possible to maintain social distance

Schools will be partially reopened from 26 May. This will allow for revision classes and state exams but a full reopening is not expected until September

From 11 May customers were able to order a beer in a terrace bar, but bars and restaurants will not fully reopen until 10 June, adhering to strict social distancing guidelines and only at 50% capacity

Cinemas, theatres and exhibitions will reopen from 26 May, but only at 30% capacity. Outdoor concerts of up to 400 people will be permitted if concert-goers remain at a safe distance from each other

From 1 July people travelling from abroad - including tourists - will no longer have to spend two weeks in quarantine on arrival in Spain

Switzerland: Museums and restaurants return

Switzerland began easing its eight-week lockdown in stages from 27 April.

Garden centres, hairdressers and beauty salons were allowed to reopen on 27 April

Schools, libraries, museums and non-food shops followed on 11 May, with strict distancing measures

So too did restaurants, bars and cafes with a limit of four guests per table, with tables 2m apart

Hand sanitiser is being provided at railway stations and passengers are advised to wear masks on public transport

Zoos, swimming pools, mountain railways, cinemas and theatres may open on 8 June, when gatherings of more than five people may be permitted

Open air events and gatherings of more than 1,000 are banned until at least the end of August

Portugal: Small, local businesses first

Portugal has had fewer coronavirus cases and deaths than some other south European nations.

The government announced a three-phase plan, reopening different sectors of the economy every 15 days.

Small neighbourhood shops, hairdressers, car dealerships and bookshops started opening from 4 May

Bigger shops, restaurants, museums and coffee shops reopened from 18 May, but at reduced capacity

Infants and some secondary school students also went back on 18 May, but all other school classes will continue remotely

Shopping centres, cinemas and theatres to open in June, when office workers might also gradually return

Greece: Tourism central to reopening plan

Greece recorded its first Covid-19 case on 26 February and the government acted swiftly to impose a lockdown. On 28 April, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a relaxation of lockdown measures in the weeks ahead.

Churches opened for individual prayer on 4 May and religious services were allowed from 17 May

Schools reopened on 11 May for final-year students only, with special measures including students attending classes on different days

Shops are now all able to reopen and indoor shopping centres can do so on 1 June

Cafes and restaurants reopened on 25 May, but with social distancing

Beaches reopened on 4 May and Greece has declared that the tourist season will start on 15 June, with the opening of seasonal hotels on the same day

Travel to the islands resumed on 25 May for mainland Greeks, but not for foreign tourists; from 1 July Greece is set to lift the two-week quarantine rule for foreigners

Fast on coronavirus, now they need to save summer

Russia: Starting to go back to work

President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia's nationwide lockdown was being eased from 12 May, and that businesses could go back to work to stop unemployment rising further. He also said it was up to individual regions to decide the best policy. But Russia's daily infection rate remains high, compared with the rest of Europe.

Construction and industry were the first sectors to resume work, under President Putin's plan

But large public events are still be banned

Moscow, as the worst-hit city, is keeping tough restrictions in place until at least 31 May

It is compulsory to wear gloves and masks in shops and on public transport in Moscow

Only food shops and pharmacies are open, schools are shut and many people are working from home

Is Putin rushing Russia out of lockdown?

Poland: Parks and forests first to reopen

In Poland, Covid-19 numbers are lower than in many Western European countries. Most of the recent infections have been amongst the country's coal miners in the southern Silesia region. Poland began lifting restrictions on 20 April, when parks and forests were allowed to reopen.

Hotels, shops, shopping centres, museums and galleries reopened on 4 May, with one customer per 15 sq m of space allowed

Face coverings in public will remain obligatory until a vaccine is available

Restaurants, cafes, hairdressers and beauty salons reopened from 18 May

Primary schools reopened on 25 May, but only for the youngest children, and final-year university students were also allowed back to class

Sweden: Strict measures never imposed

There was no compulsory lockdown in Sweden, unlike the measures seen elsewhere in Europe. But in line with government advice, most people took to voluntary social distancing and working from home.

Restaurants, bars, schools and businesses remained opened. But it did ban gatherings of more than 50 people

Sweden has recorded over 3,600 deaths, the highest per capita number in the Nordic region

What's going wrong in Sweden's care homes?

Has Sweden got its science right?

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How is lockdown being lifted across Europe?

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After almost seven weeks of lockdown in the UK restrictions are being eased, but everywhere social distancing is the rule. Across Europe, lockdown measures are being lifted cautiously, in phases. Businesses are reopening and many children are back in school. Here is how Europeans are emerging from life under lockdown.

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Strict hygenic measures to rent audioguides that should be preferably booked online

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ALVA_UK Attractions Recovery Tracker wave2 webinar recording

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ALVA_UK Attractions Recovery Tracker wave2 webinar recording

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Simple, modern video meetings for the global workforce. Join from anywhere, including your desktop, browser, mobile device, or video room device.

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ALVA_UK Attractions Recovery Tracker wave1

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ALVA_UK Attractions Recovery Tracker wave1

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Vatican Museums to reopen on 1 June after Covid-19 lockdown

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Vatican Museums to reopen on 1 June after Covid-19 lockdown

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The Holy See Press Office announces on Saturday that the Vatican Museums and the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo will reopen their doors to the public on 1 June.
By Vatican News
The Vatican Museums reopening coincides with Italy's gradual easing of the nearly 3-month lockdown, which allows many businesses and activities to restart.

The reopening of the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo and a new open-bus tour have also been announced.

Health and art

Due to the current health emergency situation, the Vatican Museums are ensuring a very careful balance between safety and health needs and the dynamics of a museum visit, without compromising the essence of such a visit.

Hence, in keeping with the norms of hygiene and physical distance, visitors to the Museums will be subject to a body temperature check and will be allowed in only with a facemask.

A medical and health team from Italy's Misericordie volunteer group and the Vatican's Health and Hygiene Department will ensure every need during the opening hours.

Other important requirements for the reopening of the museums will be revised from time to time as the current emergency situation evolves.

Online booking

In order to restrict the number of entries, the Vatican Museums have limited ticket sales to only online booking from the official website www.museivaticani.va. For this emergency period, the online booking fee of Euro 4 will not apply.

There are also variations to the opening hours:

- Monday to Thursday: the Pontifical Collections will remain open from 10.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m., with the last entry at 6.00 p.m. (exit from the museum sectors starts at 7.30 p.m.)

- Friday and Saturday: from 10.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m., with the last entry at 8.00 p.m. (exit from the museum sectors at 9.30 p.m.). Museums visits on Friday and Saturday are accompanied by the possibility to take part in an aperitif in the Pine Cone Courtyard to enjoy the sunset.

The usual free entry to the museums on the last Sunday of the month has been suspended.

New bus tour

Apart from the visit to the Vatican Museums, there is a new open-bus ecological and panoramic tour of the Vatican Gardens. It provides an exclusive and direct access to the green heart of the Vatican City State.

Bookings for this tour are only possible online from the website www.museivaticani.va, which provides all the details of the trip.

Pontifical Villas

Along with the Vatican Museums, the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo are also reopening to the public.

The visits to the summer residence of the Holy Father and its gardens have been limited to Saturdays and Sundays only, from 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m., with the last entry at 5.00 p.m.

The first available visit for the Pontifical Villas is scheduled for Saturday, 6 June 2020.

Here too all visitors will be subject to temperature checks, and a facemask is obligatory.

The Train of the Pontifical Villas, which took visitors from the Vatican railway station to Castel Gandolfo, has also been temporarily suspended.

On March 1, the Holy See Press Office announced the precautionary closure of the Vatican Museums and other Vatican tours and visits in coordination with the measures of the Italian authorities to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Meanwhile the first of the Vatican's 10 Covid-19 cases was announced on March 6.

On March 9, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte imposed a nationwide lockdown, restricting the movement of people except for necessity, work, and health need. The Vatican has been complying with Italian norms.

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Vatican Museums to reopen on 1 June after Covid-19 lockdown - Vatican News

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The Holy See Press Office announces on Saturday that the Vatican Museums and the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo will reopen their doors to the public on 1 June. By Vatican News The Vatican Museums reopening coincides with Italy's gradual easing of the nearly 3-month lockdown, which allows many businesses and activities to restart.

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Museums, hotels and bars to reopen in Madrid, Barcelona

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Museums, hotels and bars to reopen in Madrid, Barcelona

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Recovering from COVID-19: these are the risks to anticipate now - before it's too late

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Recovering from COVID-19: these are the risks to anticipate now - before it's too late

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Recovering from COVID-19: these are the risks to anticipate now - before it's too late

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The Forum asked 350 of the world's top risk experts to assess the most likely and most concerning fallout risks from COVID-19 over the next 18 months. The findings highlight: the economy, cybersecurity, environment and social anxiety as the top concerns.

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COVID19 awareness campaign for International Museums Day

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COVID19 awareness campaign for International Museums Day

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COVID19 awareness campaign for International Museums Day

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On the occasion of the International Museums Day, UNESCO Beirut Office in partnership with the Lebanese Ministry of Culture have launched a COVID19 awareness campaign.

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Audience Research Opportunity or Obstacle

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Audience Research Opportunity or Obstacle

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Audience research & Covid-19: opportunity or obstacle? - Crowdcast

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Register now for Ecsite's event on Crowdcast, scheduled to go live on Wednesday May 20, 2020 at 3:00 pm CEST.

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UK Parliament Broadcast: Impact of Covid-19 on DCMS sectors 

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UK Parliament Broadcast: Impact of Covid-19 on DCMS sectors 

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Subject: Impact of Covid-19 on DCMS sectors

Witness(es): Bernard Donoghue, Director, Association of Leading Visitor Attractions; Samantha Richardson, Director, National Coastal Tourism Academy; Patricia Yates, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Visit Britain

Witness(es): Hilary McGrady, Director General, National Trust; Ros Pritchard OBE, Director General, British Holiday and Home Park Association

Subject: Impact of Covid-19 on DCMS sectors

Witness(es): Bernard Donoghue, Director, Association of Leading Visitor Attractions; Samantha Richardson, Director, National Coastal Tourism Academy; Patricia Yates, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Visit Britain

Witness(es): Hilary McGrady, Director General, National Trust; Ros Pritchard OBE, Director General, British Holiday and Home Park Association

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Subject: Impact of Covid-19 on DCMS sectors Witness(es): Bernard Donoghue, Director, Association of Leading Visitor Attractions; Samantha Richardson, Director, National Coastal Tourism Academy; Patricia Yates, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Visit Britain Witness(es): Hilary McGrady, Director General, National Trust; Ros Pritchard OBE, Director General, British Holiday and Home Park Association Subject: Impact of Covid-19 on DCMS sectors Witness(es): Bernard Donoghue, Director, Association of Leading Visitor Attractions; Samantha Richardson, Director, National Coastal Tourism Academy; Patricia Yates, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Visit Britain Witness(es): Hilary McGrady, Director General, National Trust; Ros Pritchard OBE, Director General, British Holiday and Home Park Association

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Post Covid Balancing Act: A Strategy Primer for Museums 

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Post Covid Balancing Act: A Strategy Primer for Museums 

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We are up against the delicate balancing act between making our visitors feel both welcome and safe

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When we reopen ours doors it will not be business as usual. This pandemic will impact our world in profound and lasting ways. Museums, by definition, are places to gather and interact, so we have the potential to be hit hard by an environmental challenge that demands distancing. We have an opportunity to respond thoughtfully and responsibly to this new normal, but it involves a willingness to change the way we do business. We are up against the delicate balancing act between making our visitors feel both welcome and safe.

Physical barriers create mental barriers

Imagine the worst case scenario for opening day. Your visitors come into the museum. Protective plastic shields have been placed at your reception desk and coat room. Your staff members are standing across the ticket counter wearing N95 masks. A sign states that visitors without masks will be turned away. It's raining and ticket lines, set to maintain six foot distances, are extending out the door. Can you think of anything less welcoming? The first five minutes of your visitor experience sets the tone, and if we are not thoughtful, our visitors will not return. Worse, they may share this bad experience on one of the many platforms we use to promote our sites.

What is the alternative? We can start by using these necessary barriers as an opportunity to engage. Masks are a perfect example. If you want to ensure visitor safety by requiring them to wear masks, provide them for free. If you want the masks to convey a more welcoming message, offer them in bright colors, print the material with images from your collection, or add an emotional tagline. Be equally thoughtful of the masks your staff members are wearing. They too should be bright and welcoming, perhaps using your site's branding.

Tipping point

If we are respecting social distancing once our sites open, we have to reevaluate occupancy standards. This goes far beyond determining the maximum number of people allowed inside your museum at one time, or even allowed in one room. Most museums occupancy rates are set at 15 to 30 sq. ft. per person. Currently the CDC "social distancing recommendation" is four plus times this space needed per person. What does that mean, practically, for our spaces? To accommodate that kind of change, we need to reevaluate the museum experience and reimagine our exhibits.

Bottlenecks

A walkthrough with your floorplan is imperative. How do people move through your site? Where do they gather? Where are your problem areas? The visitor experience begins before they enter the exhibit and continues after they have left. So your walkthrough should mark up your lobby, reception desk, coat check and ticketing areas as well as your shop.

You may need to delineate queues with stanchions or set wait lines in your lobby ensuring people stand six feet apart. Can your lobbies accommodate these increased space demands? Are there exterior spaces you can adapt? Can you protect them from the elements? Do you need to limit the number of people who can enter at one time? Is timed ticketing an option for your site? No matter what you plan to implement, always consider how these adaptations will impact visitor experience.

No one likes to wait

Surprise! People get impatient when they have to wait in line, especially if they are inconvenienced further by standing out in the rain or cold. You may have made your visitors safer, but in doing so you may have also inconvenienced them. This will affect future visits and reviews. What can you do? You may want to encourage time savers such as advance ticket purchase on line. Or alternately, you can add interpretation in your lobby areas to keep your visitors occupied while they wait. You already have a space issue in your lobby, so setting up displays is likely to cause more bottlenecks. Offer a QR code, push notification or a link to a activity on your website or app, or even consider a link to a survey asking for input from your visitors about their expectations and needs.

These content ideas reflect a necessary shift away from museum owned devices to visitor owned devices, taking away the burden and liability of sanitizing in house devices. If you are offering audio tours from hand held devices or you have an app, signage along the queue is the perfect place to direct people how to download it onto to their phones while they wait. Are you on a tight budget and prefer low tech? Have small signs along the line, alternating between trivia questions and answers. Whatever you do, make it fun, easy and inviting.

Making the hard choices

Many of our exhibits were designed specifically so that our visitors gather at various junctures like introductory interpretive signs or group interactive areas. Should you remove interpretive signage, shut down your interactive stations? Cancel your group tours? How can you convey content if your tools are no longer considered safe?

The key here is to map the exhibit. Note every problem area. Ask the hard questions. What is the essential content, and what can be sacrificed as you adapt your exhibits? How can that content be provided safely and still engage your audience? What tools do you have to work with? Are there safety measures you can add, such as the installation of sanitizing stations, wait lines or brief signage to encourage visitors to practice social distancing.

You can lead a horse to water

Remember that while you can add safety measures, you may not be able to accurately monitor whether your visitors are following the safety protocols you have set. This may be easier for smaller museums which have more direct interaction with the public, lower visitations per day, and a stronger repeat customer base from their local communities. It is less likely to be successful at larger museums, who draw from a regional or national base of often one time visitors.

Phase your opening

Especially for these larger museums, it may be better to re-open your site in phases. Take stock of your staffing resources and exhibit changes. Start with the areas that are more easily controlled. Pick one or two signature galleries to open initially. This will give you the opportunity to beta test the implementation of signage, safety measures and new technology. It may also lessen initial expenditures while giving you time to develop quality content. More complex safety issues may affect areas like your cafe which can re-open later once you feel you can meet the safety standards required.

Protocols

Whatever measures you decide to take to prepare for reopening, you need to establish clear protocols with both your staff and your visitors. Let them know what will be different, how you will be protecting them and what behavioral changes you expect from them.

For your staff it may be training them how to keep a clean and safe environment; to be welcoming when informing the public about new procedures; how to respond if someone is ill on the premises; or how to diplomatically approach visitors who are not following safety protocols. Don't leave this up chance. Develop welcoming language. Make sure that your staff conveys to visitors that they, and your new protocols, are there to keep them safe.

You must establish expectations for your visitors even before they arrive on site. Your message should be consistent. There should be language on the website, on signage in the lobby and throughout the museum, as well as being delivered verbally by your front of house staff. This is especially important when you resume school programming. Materials need to be provided to the teachers, giving them the tools they need to prepare the students for visits.

Getting your bang for your buck

Many museums are considering where to invest funds to best support them when they reopen. My top five recommendations are:

* Automation of toilets, sinks, soap and towel dispensers, and doors (exterior and bathrooms). Go a step further and replace push button interactive stations with motion sensor activators.

* Increasing your cleaning budget to support a more robust cleaning schedule.

* Establishing safety measures for your front of house staff and visitors, like installing a glass shield at your reception desk and sanitizing stations throughout the museum.

* Provide free disposable/ washable masks for your visitors. Go the extra mile; add your museum branding.

* Spring for content development for personal hand held devices (website activities, audio tours, customer service survey, or interactive app).

We are in this together

No one museum or museum professional will come up with all of the answers. Each museum is unique and the approach we take to respond to the profound changes we are facing will be equally unique. But if we create an environment of sharing and support, we can navigate these uncharted times together. We can inspire others with our successes and save them hardships by sharing where we have failed. We can, and should, strive to be both resourceful and a resource.

About the author - Amy Hollander

Amy Hollander is a storyteller, exhibit designer and a strategic planner with 20 years' experience in the Museum field. She established her company, Cloud Mill, LLC to help museums navigate 21st century challenges. She works with institutions to strengthen their programs, policies and performance. Her focus is on developing comprehensive strategies that utilize modern tools and employ holistic solutions to address existential issues.

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Post Covid Balancing Act: A Strategy Primer for Museums - MuseumNext

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When we reopen ours doors it will not be business as usual. This pandemic will impact our world in profound and lasting ways. Museums, by definition, are places to gather and interact, so we have the potential to be hit hard by an environmental challenge that demands distancing.

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A monthly tracker of Scottish tourism intentions during COVID 19

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A monthly tracker of Scottish tourism intentions during COVID 19

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National Museums Liverpool Re-Opening Survey

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National Museums Liverpool Re-Opening Survey

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This International Museum Day, let's celebrate the inspirational power of museums & thank museum workers for their valuable contribution.

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This International Museum Day, let's celebrate the inspirational power of museums & thank museum workers for their valuable contribution.

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Museums may be temporarily closed, but they remain a source of knowledge and discovery for many - now through virtual tours in particular.

This International Museum Day, let's celebrate the inspirational power of museums & thank museum workers for their valuable contribution.

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Museums may be temporarily closed, but they remain a source of knowledge and discovery for many - now through virtual tours in particular.

This International Museum Day, let's celebrate the inspirational power of museums & thank museum workers for their valuable contribution. https://t.co/vbtxeGlos4

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Museums may be temporarily closed, but they remain a source of knowledge and discovery for many - now through virtual tours in particular.

This International Museum Day, let's celebrate the inspirational power of museums & thank museum workers for their valuable contribution. pic.twitter.com/vbtxeGlos4
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 18, 2020

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Museums may be temporarily closed, but they remain a source of knowledge and discovery for many - now through virtual tours in particular.

This International Museum Day, let's celebrate the inspirational power of museums & thank museum workers for their valuable contribution. https://t.co/vbtxeGlos4

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Museums may be temporarily closed, but they remain a source of knowledge and discovery for many - now through virtual tours in particular.

This International Museum Day, let's celebrate the inspirational power of museums & thank museum workers for their valuable contribution. https://t.co/vbtxeGlos4

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Museums may be temporarily closed, but they remain a source of knowledge and discovery for many - now through virtual tours in particular.

This International Museum Day, let's celebrate the inspirational power of museums & thank museum workers for their valuable contribution.

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pic1-34055310

Special: Battle Against Novel Coronavirus

Museums in many Chinese cities are holding a variety of events to promote culture and get closer to the public, echoing the theme of the 2020 International Museum Day, which is "Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion".

As part of the activities held during International Museum Day, which falls on Monday, more than 20 of China's most renowned museums are providing access on digital platforms to virtual exhibitions from Sunday to Tuesday.

Starting at 9 am on Monday, six major attractions, including the Maiji Mountain Grottoes and Mogao Caves, will be shown on a livestreaming platform for the first time.

Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, will host the main event of this year's event in China. Scholars from foreign countries and organizations, including the United Kingdom, the United States and the International Council of Museums, will also join an internet symposium in Nanjing on the future development of the world's museums in the context of cultural diversity.

Wu Xiaolin, deputy director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, said the province has 302 registered museums that provide diversified and professional exhibitions. The museums in the province received more than 100 million visitors last year.

On Monday, the Nanjing Museum is holding an exhibition showcasing about 200 cultural relics ranging from the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC) to the Han Dynasty (206 BC to AD 220).

Many curators of museums, including the Dunhuang Academy, the Nanjing Museum and the Hebei Museum, will also give detailed information about their top collections on livestreaming channels.

As China's cultural center, Beijing is building itself as a "city of museums" with its 187 registered museums.

On International Museum Day, the city's museums will launch 94 events, including 50 online exhibitions and 15 livestreaming broadcasts, to reduce the infection risks from face-to-face contact.

"The online exhibitions and livestreaming can overcome the limits of time and space to provide content equally for all," said Chen Mingjie, head of the Beijing Administration of Cultural Heritage.

"We have organized experts to give high-quality museum interpretations to all online and offline audiences."

He said that cultural heritage authorities in Beijing want to create an atmosphere in which local residents and visitors can access a museum anytime and from any location.

The events will allow people to closely observe cultural relics without being physically present at the museums.

Museums have also adopted popular tools and high-tech to enrich internet-based event experiences.

A group of museums such as the China National Film Museum, the Memorial Museum of Lao She and the Overseas Chinese History Museum of China hold livestreaming broadcasts, while some others such as the China Media Museum will adopt virtual reality technology to provide a more vivid experience.

"Even though we are in the special period of COVID-19 epidemic prevention, we can still connect closely with our audience with the help of VR technology," said Pan Li, head of the China Media Museum.

Owned by the Communication University of China, the China Media Museum focuses on the development of the country's media industry.

"Items in our exhibition are not something ancient. Most of them are just decades old, but they can evoke the memories and emotions of the visitors because these are related to people's lives in some way, which I believe is the most important meaning of museums," he said.

"Going to museums has become fashionable nowadays as the public has a growing appetite for culture."

To enhance communication with the audience, the Capital Museum will launch "Me and Museum" educational projects, soliciting works such as videos, audio recordings, paintings and photography from the public, and the winning entries will be exhibited at the Capital Museum.

Navigation service provider AutoNavi will also provide descriptions of about 600 items that belong to 20 national museums.

Citizens can open the updated AutoNavi app and listen to the descriptions wherever they are.

Guo Ning, vice-president of the company, said the app can play the role of a "smart carrier" to bring culture to a wider audience.

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pic1-34055310 Special: Battle Against Novel Coronavirus Museums in many Chinese cities are holding a variety of events to promote culture and get closer to the public, echoing the theme of the 2020 International Museum Day, which is "Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion".

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Small museums welcome first visitors as France's lockdown eases

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Small museums welcome first visitors as France's lockdown eases

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Culture is among the sectors hit hard globally by the coronavirus pandemic. In France, museums across the country closed their doors when the lockdown began in March. The largest and most celebrated, including the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay, aren't due to reopen until the summer. But as France begins to ease confinement measures this week, small cultural venues are allowed to open their doors.

Lockdown easing comes as a breath of fresh air for the Giacometti Institute, a small museum tucked away in Paris's 14th arrondissement. The 350-square metre space, featuring the works of Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti, has a maximum capacity of just 10 visitors. After two months locked down, the museum is booked solid for its reopening on Friday.
FRANCE 24's Jonathan Walsh, Amine Baba Aissa and Jean-Emile Jammine report. To watch, click on the video player above.

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Small museums welcome first visitors as France's lockdown eases

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Culture is among the sectors hit hard globally by the coronavirus pandemic. In France, museums across the country closed their doors when the lockdown began in March. The largest and most celebrated, including the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay, aren't due to reopen until the summer.

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Two veteran curators discuss how museums might adapt to a post-COVID-19 scenario and be relevant to Generation Alpha

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Two veteran curators discuss how museums might adapt to a post-COVID-19 scenario and be relevant to Generation Alpha

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As COVID-19 loosens its grip over nations, museums and art galleries are gradually and cautiously awakening to a new reality. To understand how these places, which are custodians of relics of our past, present and, perhaps, future, need to adapt to the new scenario and still be relevant, MetroPlus speaks to two eminent museumologists, Deepthi Sasidharan and George Jacob. Both are curators and at the forefront of establishing and revitalising museums to give them pride of place in a post-pandemic world.

Deepthi is one of the two founder-directors of Delhi-based Eka Archiving Services, which has set up themed museums all over India, while India-born George is president and CEO, Bay Ecotarium in San Francisco, and serves on the Board of Directors of the International Council of Museums in the U.S.

Even while Eka is observing Museum Week with a series of online activities, Deepthi points out that we are far from being at the stage of the "aftermath of the pandemic." "Museums, much like people, will need time to understand and absorb this cataclysmic year and we are only at the beginning. Museums must look ahead at how they can continue to share the wealth of artefacts and knowledge they house with the world outside. There is already a virtual museum called the Museum of Covid, and archives around the world are already collecting physical objects that represent the pandemic! So yes, museums must continue to carry on the important work they do much like all other institutions of learning and enjoyment," she says.

George points out that museums, aquariums, science centres and other destinations of augmented learning are unmasking new means, methods and metrics to adapt to the new scenario. In the case of museums in India, George adds that one must realise that we have a heritage and a sophisticated civilisation unlike any other.

"It is imperative that the young generation takes pride in our heritage and is invested in our future by nurturing the past. Active engagement and collaboration between schools and museum outreach programmes can pivot fundamental shifts in the perception that museums are actually non-formal learning institutions and compliment the classroom-based education."

The way forward

Deepthi feels that changing to what the audiences expect and new ways and methods of learning are the way forward for the museums. "Children and younger adults today learn differently - it's a digital, sporty, interactive world that they inhabit in their schools and homes and definitely one with a heavy leaning towards digital screens and technology. The museums must change instead to become more sensitive and inclusive. Toilets that cater to children, feeding rooms, facilities to charge phones and so on have become necessary. Look at all the other community places they inhabit - malls, cinemas, gaming zones and airports and compare how these places attempt to make youngsters comfortable and we can begin to understand what needs to be done," she explains.

In the age of social distancing and hand-washing, will virtual tours become the norm? "For now, as the pandemic rages, the virtual mediums will have to suffice. But given a choice, nothing can take away the gasp of wonder that escapes when you come face to face with a masterpiece. So, objects must be seen and virtual mediums must do all they can to build bridges and deepen understanding," asserts Deepthi.

Accredited museums world-wide adhere to basic standards of conservation, preservation, display and relative humidity, both in galleries and storage archives, observes George. At the core of what a museum offers is a physical interaction with its collections. While there is no substitute for the material and the real, experiential thresholds are shifting to the virtual realm, especially in the more tech-savvy West, he explains.

"With social distancing, museums will experience thinning of visitors. While some are shifting the focus to online learning modules, virtual classrooms, gallery visits and live cams, others are exploring touch-points of monetisation, cyber-curation and artificial intelligence-induced experiences, transcending the conventional boundaries in sync with 'Generation Alpha - the "screenagers" who have not experienced a world without mobile screens," says George.

Staying relevant

Moving on to the question of accessibility of museums, he agrees that there was a time of elitism in museums - both with their imposing architecture and accommodation of high-art and culture. However, George elaborates that at present, the success of museums is attributed directly to its relevance to the stakeholders and communities it seeks to serve.

"From traditional museums that focused on art, history, culture, natural science and anthropology, new museums are addressing topics of popular culture ranging from fashion, culinary arts, wine-making, insects, philately, astronomy and design. Idea-based museums are embracing powerful subjects like human rights, philosophy, poetry and slavery, to cite a few. Popular themes combined with outreach and workshops are opening the doors to a wider demographic even as they invite volunteers and docents to be part of a sustained effort to engage," he says.

Deepthi too echoes George's sentiments on how museums have become accessible to all. "If you go to any of the memorials like Gandhi smaraks or the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum, it is the humblest of travellers who find their way there," she emphasises.

Regarding outreach programmes, Deepthi believes it will depend on the type of museum and the collection but she asserts that collaboration is very much the way forward. Both the curators agree that paucity of sustained funding is a major stumbling block for museums. "With dwindling resources in the post-pandemic months and jobs being slashed, cultural institutions must pool resources, ideas and platforms to take their cause further," she says.

Cultural ambassadors

Moreover, George says that since museums serve as cultural ambassadors for political, strategic and a range of community benefits, governments must offer tax incentives to donors who support the museums. "Such an investment in the non-profit sector of contemporary museums has the potential for strengthening our social fabric and triggering the need for infrastructural development, offering new destinations for domestic and foreign tourists. Once the existential crises are averted, there are many ways museums can engage diverse audiences. Depending on the content and curatorial emphasis of museums, they could pursue programmes, publications and mission-aligned projects to remain relevant. Side-walk art, graffiti contests, films, lectures, events, competitions, sponsored raffles, art and science fairs, auctions, field trips, gift-shops, and working with companies that uphold sustainable development goals as part of their corporate social responsibility, all lead to higher visibility and public engagement," explains George.

Accessibility standards

Reacting to a point raised by visually challenged activist Tiffany Brar, who spoke about how most museums in India are not disabled-friendly, both George and Deepthi say India needs a comprehensive museum policy that addresses accessibility standards. George believes that making it a mandatory requirement will guide the construction of new museums, while the older institutions should begin with a minimum of four measures - disabled-compliant rest-rooms, access ramps for wheel chairs, audio guide and Braille-guided material. "This would be a good starting point, though there is much more that needs to be done," he adds.

"I think we have to work towards sensitisation of people towards being aware of differently-abled people, their rights and expectations. If museums are inclusive, and provide access to the differently-abled, we open up the space for their enjoyment as well. Workshops that cater to school children can easily be tweaked to accommodate differently-abled audiences. Also involve representatives like Tiffany Brar in planning forums," says Deepthi.

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Two veteran curators discuss how museums might adapt to a post-COVID-19 scenario and be relevant to Generation Alpha

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As COVID-19 loosens its grip over nations, museums and art galleries are gradually and cautiously awakening to a new reality. To understand how these places, which are custodians of relics of our past, present and, perhaps, future, need to adapt to the new scenario and still be relevant, MetroPlus speaks to two eminent museumologists, Deepthi Sasidharan and George Jacob.

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NEMO report on the impact of COVID-19 on museums in Europe

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NEMO report on the impact of COVID-19 on museums in Europe

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NEMO - The Network of European Museum Organisations

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From 24 March to 30 April 2020, close to 1000 museums in 48 countries contributed to the NEMO's survey, a majority of them from Europe. As museums in Europe re-open, we need to listen to the community and learn from this crisis in order to effectively respond, mitigate and adapt. Closed museum doors have resulted in weekly income loss and new working methods and operations. The situation has also encouraged museums to explore more online alternatives to the traditional museum experience, which have been invaluable in these months of home confinement.

Directed at stakeholders at all levels, NEMO's report includes recommendations urging for immediate action, for mid-term considerations and for long-term strategy with regard to:

1. Economic support for museum operations;

2. Investment in digital cultural heritage; and

3. Making museums fit for crises

Visit NEMO's web page dedicated to museums during COVID-19 to find more relevant material.

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NEMO - The Network of European Museum Organisations

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NEMO report on the impact of COVID-19 on museums in Europe

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Museums have experienced unprecedented economic and social consequences in the last few weeks due to the coronavirus. To better understand the status quo and what might come next, NEMO launched a survey to map COVID-19's impact on the museum sector.

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South Korea 'back to normal' with offices and museums reopened

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South Korea 'back to normal' with offices and museums reopened

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South Korea returned largely to normal Wednesday as workers went back to offices, and museums and libraries reopened under eased social distancing rules after new coronavirus cases dropped to a trickle.

The South endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the disease outside China and while it never imposed a compulsory lockdown, strict social distancing had been widely observed since March.

Employees were urged to work from home where possible while the new school term was postponed from its March start.

Scores of events - from K-pop concerts to sports seasons - were delayed or cancelled, while museums and galleries were closed and religious services suspended.

But South Korea appears to have brought its outbreak under control thanks to an extensive "trace, test and treat" programme that has drawn widespread praise.

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South Korea 'back to normal' with offices and museums reopened

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South Korea returned largely to normal Wednesday as workers went back to offices, and museums and libraries reopened under eased social distancing rules after new coronavirus cases dropped to a trickle. The South endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the disease outside China and while it never imposed a compulsory lockdown, strict social distancing had been widely observed since March.

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China's tourism rebounds during May Day holiday as coronavirus eases

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China's tourism rebounds during May Day holiday as coronavirus eases

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- China saw nearly 104 million domestic tourist trips in the first four days of the five-day holiday which started May 1. The surge came after a relaxation of travel restrictions amid dwindling COVID-19 cases in the country. - Authorities have urged the safe and orderly reopening of tourist sites across the country, stressing that efforts should be made to control passenger flows, prevent the gatherings of crowds, implement reservation systems and raise public awareness of epidemic prevention and control. - The travel increases would help lift the tourism and hospitality sectors that have been hit hard by disruptions from the outbreak of COVID-19.
by Xinhua writers Cheng Lu, Lu Yifang and Kong Xiangxin

BEIJING, May 5 (Xinhua) -- As the novel coronavirus epidemic in China becomes more subdued, the country is trying to get tourism back on its feet, with the majority of scenic attractions reopening and a large number of tourists returning to popular sites during the May Day holiday season.

China saw nearly 104 million domestic tourist trips in the first four days of the five-day May Day holiday season which started May 1. And domestic tourism revenue generated during the period totaled 43.23 billion yuan (about 6.12 billion U.S. dollars), according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The surge comes after a relaxation of travel restrictions amid dwindling COVID-19 cases in the country. One confirmed case arriving from overseas was reported on the Chinese mainland Monday, and there were no new domestically transmitted cases, the National Health Commission said Tuesday.

SURGING TOURIST NUMBERS

In the first three days of the holiday, Beijing's 124 major tourist attractions received over 1.89 million visitors, up 58.5 percent compared with the three-day Qingming Festival holiday in early April.

In Shanghai, a total of 130 main tourist attractions received over 1 million visitors in the first two days of the May Day holiday, according to the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism.

Tourists visit the Palace Museum in Beijing, capital of China, May 1, 2020. (Photo by Chen Zhonghao/Xinhua)

Again in Beijing with the Palace Museum. The museum, also known as the Forbidden City, was partially reopened from Friday after more than three months of closure due to COVID-19. Visitors now need to make reservations online before visits, and the daily number of visitors is limited to 5,000.

According to the museum's online booking system, all 25,000 tickets throughout the five-day holiday were gone within 12 hours since the reopening news was released.

"For the Qingming Festival holiday, I joined a livestreaming tour of the Forbidden City. When I heard that it reopened, I could not wait to get out of my house and see it in person," a tourist surnamed Liu said.

As the nationwide battle against the epidemic has gained major strategic achievements, China has eased curbs on travel and relaxed rules on quarantine.

People from low-risk regions of China are not required to stay quarantined for 14 days upon arriving in Beijing since the city lowered its level of novel coronavirus emergency response from the highest to the second-highest starting April 30.

Search and reservations for Beijing local trips, car rentals and scenic spots tickets during the May Day holiday season have reached a peak since April, according to China's largest online travel agency Trip.com Group.

Tourists take a selfie among blooming flowers at a scenic spot in Suining, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 1, 2020. (Photo by Liu Changsong/Xinhua)

Chinese tourists are expected to take more than 117 million domestic trips during the holiday. Short inter-provincial journeys by private vehicles will be the most common, according to the Ministry of Transport.

The view is echoed by Wang Xiaosong, chairman of online travel agency Lvmama.com. Wang said tourists are shifting their focus from outbound tours to travel near their homes during this May Day holiday, and they are looking for a better and safer travel experience.

"In the past, the Beijing-based Mutianyu Great Wall mainly received visitors from other foreign and domestic cities. Due to the epidemic, the site now sees more tourists from Beijing," said Luo Xing, executive deputy general manager of a tourism service company which operates the site.

On the first day of the holiday, around 5,000 tourists visited the Great Wall site of Mutianyu, nearly twice the average daily visits on weekends since it reopened on April 10, Luo said.

STRINGENT MEASURES FOR EPIDEMIC CONTROL

Authorities have urged the safe and orderly reopening of tourist sites across the country, stressing that efforts should be made to control passenger flows, prevent the gatherings of crowds, implement reservation systems and raise public awareness of epidemic prevention and control.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Health Commission recently released a circular, requiring tourist sites that resume operation should receive no more than 30 percent of their daily visitor capacity and indoor tourist sites should remain closed amid the epidemic.

Visitors buy souvenirs at a shop with a coronavirus precaution notice at the Palace Museum in Beijing, capital of China, May 1, 2020. (Photo by Chen Zhonghao/Xinhua)

Scenic spots in Beijing are now adopting an advanced real-name booking system to limit crowds. Tourists should have their temperature checked, show a health code upon arrival and wear masks during their visit.

Huangpi District in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, home to many top tourist attractions, was well prepared for the holiday. On a poster at the entrance of famous tourist site Mulan Grassland, the cartoon figure of Chinese folklore heroine "Mulan" wears a mask as an interesting reminder for tourists to protect themselves and others.

"Please show your health code and maintain a distance of no less than 1.5 meters," a security guard said to tourists standing in queues at the entrance. When the site saw a tourist peak at noon of May 1, the first day of the holiday, it immediately opened new gates for entry to avoid crowds.

RECOVERING INDUSTRY

The travel increases during the May Day holiday, one of China's peak tourism periods each year, would help lift the tourism and hospitality sectors that have been hit hard by disruptions from the outbreak of COVID-19.

The China Tourism Academy estimated that domestic visits will see a reduction of 932 million in 2020 while the number will plummet in the first quarter -- a negative growth of 56 percent compared with that in 2019. Tourism-driven revenues will drop by 1.18 trillion yuan this year.

China's tourism sector is seeking long-term development to offset losses brought by the COVID-19 epidemic, with smarter infrastructure and live broadcast provided by many scenic spots.

Photo taken on May 3, 2020 shows a night view at the Hongyadong scenic area in southwest China's Chongqing. (Xinhua/Wang Quanchao)

Also, some hotels begin to cooperate with travel agencies to overcome the challenge. Sansa, a homestay near Mutianyu Great Wall, is in talks with a travel agency about launching a promotional package tour product to lock in more tourists, according to its general manager Wu Meijian.

"I hope more tourism enterprises can seek potential from new markets, such as short journeys by private vehicles, leisure tours and family tours," said Dai Bin, president of China Tourism Academy.

The fundamentals of China's long-term growth in the tourism sector will remain unchanged, said Dai, noting that as long as the tourism companies can enhance product innovation and adjust market strategy in this special period, they can get through the tough times.

"The tourism industry is closely related to dining, hospitality, transportation, shopping and entertainment sectors. The May Day holiday is a very good opportunity for the recovery of epidemic-hit tourism industry," said Hu Daohua, a tourism expert from the Hubei University. "The gradual recovery of the tourism industry will drive the development of the whole industrial chain, stimulate consumption and stabilize the economy."

(Luo Xin, Zhang Manzi and Fan Pan from Beijing also contributed to the story; video reporters: Wang Pu, Pang Yuanyuan, Zhang Chenlin, Tian Chenxu and Wei Mengjia; video editor: Li Ziwei)■

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Xinhua Headlines: China's tourism rebounds during May Day holiday as coronavirus eases

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China saw nearly 104 million domestic tourist trips in the first four days of the five-day holiday which started May 1. The surge came after a relaxation of travel restrictions amid dwindling COVID-19 cases in the country.

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Berlin’s Museum Island reopens to visitors after coronavirus closure

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Berlin’s Museum Island reopens to visitors after coronavirus closure

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Ruptly is live from Berlin's Museum Island on Tuesday, May 12, as four of its most famous venues reopen after weeks of closure due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

On Tuesday, Berlin State Museums will welcome back visitors to the Altes Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, Pergamonmuseum and the Gemaeldegalerie.

Berlin State Museums have announced several health and safety measures. Visitors and staff will only be allowed to visit the exhibitions with mouth and nose covering and everyone will be obliged to maintain 1.5 metres distance from others. Bookings will only be issued in particular time slots and tour bookings will not be available until further notice.

Germany has announced several measures to gradually return back to normality as the rate of active COVID-19 cases continues to drop. As of Monday, the country has reported nearly 169,200 confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 7,300 related deaths, according to figures compiled by Robert Koch Institute.

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Ruptly is live from Berlin's Museum Island on Tuesday, May 12, as four of its most famous venues reopen after weeks of closure due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, Berlin State Museums will welcome back visitors to the Altes Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, Pergamonmuseum and the Gemaeldegalerie. Berlin State Museums have announced several health and safety measures. Visitors and staff will only be allowed to visit the exhibitions with mouth and nose covering and everyone will be obliged to maintain 1.5 metres distance from others. Bookings will only be issued in particular time slots and tour bookings will not be available until further notice. Germany has announced several measures to gradually return back to normality as the rate of active COVID-19 cases continues to drop. As of Monday, the country has reported nearly 169,200 confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 7,300 related deaths, according to figures compiled by Robert Koch Institute.

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Berlin's Museum Island reopens to visitors after coronavirus closure | Ruptly Live

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All live events All live events live Ruptly is live from Berlin's Museum Island on Tuesday, May 12, as four of its most famous venues reopen after weeks of closure due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, Berlin State Museums will welcome back visitors to the Altes Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, Pergamonmuseum and the Gemaeldegalerie.

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Join the event to celebrate International Museum Day #IMD2020 18th May 2020

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Join the event to celebrate International Museum Day #IMD2020 18th May 2020

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museums in a covid world: icom uk & british council celebrate #imd2020

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museums in a covid world: icom uk & british council celebrate #imd2020 tickets

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Museums in a Covid World: ICOM UK & British Council Celebrate #IMD2020

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Eventbrite - ICOM UK presents Museums in a Covid World: ICOM UK & British Council Celebrate #IMD2020 - Monday, 18 May 2020 - Find event and registration information.

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Four Essential Steps to consider before reopening your museum

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Four Essential Steps to consider before reopening your museum

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From ziplines to water parks, walking tours to art museums, understanding the next steps toward the New Normal is complicated. There are neither government regulations nor industry standards to offer a path to re-opening, and no single set of guidelines can effectively apply across the board. Nevertheless, no matter the service or product, a uniform set of re-opening challenges involves regulation, staffing, communication, and operation.

1) Regulations: More than social distancing, face masks, hand sanitizers?

Most countries are re-opening in stages, Tourist activities like theme parks and museums may have to wait for later stages. Still, there's a wide range of operators, including guided tours, cooking classes, and equipment rentals, that may only be limited by group size. Regardless of when you're permitted to open, there may be required criteria for entry, such as face masks and social distancing.

Local tourist boards are the best source of information but don't expect much further guidance once the green light is given. Trade associations and private industry groups will likely step up to fill the void. But to alleviate fear and build confidence, erring on the side of caution may be the safest choice all around, as well as save further modifications down the road.

2) Staffing: Who do you need? What training plans and safety procedures to implement?

Some governments offer crisis assistance with operations, including employee retention. But furloughs or no, the reality is that staffing will need to be reorganized. Previous positions may be replaced by other functions that need to be filled, such as more security to handle crowd control, more tour guides and drivers due to smaller group sizes, and more janitorial and custodial staff everywhere.

Decisions should be made based on exposure levels, especially with vulnerable staff and potentially non-essential positions like volunteer docents and guides. Admin staff whose functions are no longer needed may need to shift to take on more front-line positions. Regardless, all employees require ongoing training in Covid-19 protocols ranging from proper sanitizing techniques and crowd management to spotting potentially ill guests. Also, updates from legal, HR, and insurance representatives about new rights, obligations, and liabilities related to exposing employees to the general public is imperative, as the pandemic has already brought changes to laws and new precedents to be set.

3) Communication: How to reassure your offerings are enjoyable and safe? How to ensure customers follow protocol?

Once a re-opening has been planned, what's next? Much attention has been paid to selling to the domestic market. Less documented is what to say once guests commit to a visit. They need reassurance that their experience will be clean and safe. They need to be advised on topics from general travel restrictions down to site-specific regulations, including permitted arrival windows, is PPE required or provided, is health screening mandatory upon entry, what they're allowed to carry inside, and how long they're permitted to stay.

In addition to direct guest communications, distribution partners should be updated. Concierges and OTAs will need to abide by timed ticketing. A review of all their public-facing information is required. Brochures may need to be reprinted.

Beyond the daily flow of information, this is when a crisis communication plan is essential, especially for a successful re-opening. Contingencies should be in place for everything from a social media response to a negative review regarding your safety techniques to how to manage communication if a public-facing employee becomes ill or a breakout is traced to your facility. Strategic public relations and communications are vital, like never before.

4) Operation: What's the best way to bring everything together for a smooth experience?

The prevailing industry wisdom is that re-openings will start with capacity limits selling only pre-purchased timed entry tickets. This can be accomplished using either existing ticketing software or some simple aftermarket options.

Once the guest arrives, challenges multiply exponentially. Is the experience now touchless? Are safety protocols in place to protect visitors and employees? How will traffic through the facility be regulated and enforced? Is seating removed? Should explanatory signs be put up everywhere? Should apps be developed to replace handouts? What cleaning equipment is needed, and is the supply reliable? Do you continuously clean, or periodically close throughout the day for a thorough cleanse? What's the magic 72 hours, 165 degrees, and 13 feet?

The questions seem endless, and even the answers from reliable sources are sometimes conflicting. The process will evolve over weeks, months, and years-safety and hygiene will now need to be an ongoing formal part of your operations plan, sales pitch, and even continuing professional education.

The New Normal demands preparation, anticipation, flexibility, cooperation
Re-opening a tour or attraction requires significant planning and interdepartmental collaboration. The entire process can last from weeks to months. It may involve multiple revisions based on changing goalposts, as well as coordination with outside organizations as diverse as construction crews, sanitation suppliers, and lawyers.

This is new territory for everyone, so patience and flexibility are key to successfully surviving the transition to operations in a Covid-19 world. Guests and employees will set the bar high for operational responses to potential risks while expecting an excellent experience. Every tour and travel business should see the benefit of providing the highest standard of safety possible to elevate the industry and accelerate winning back the trust of travelers as they venture back out to see the world.

About the Author

Jon Peahl is the founder and president of SanSee Systems, which is developing safety protocols for tour and activity operators in a post-Covid environment.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonpeahl/

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Ready to Re-open? Four Essential Steps to Consider - Arival.travel

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From ziplines to water parks, walking tours to art museums, understanding the next steps toward the New Normal is complicated. There are neither government regulations nor industry standards to offer a path to re-opening, and no single set of guidelines can effectively apply across the board.