January 11, 2008
WILLIAMSBURG, Va.—Visitation at Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center passed the million mark in 2007, the 400th-anniversary year of the founding of America’s first permanent English colony. Paid attendance at the two living-history museums operated by the state’s Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation totaled 1,020,783, a 44.7 percent increase over
2006.
Admission sales increased by 66.2 percent, to $8,443,117. Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation museum visitors spent an estimated $237 million in the Williamsburg area in 2007.
Paid visitation at Jamestown Settlement in 2007 was 767,640, an increase of 53 percent over 2006 and the highest in the museum’s 50-year history. Paid visitation at the Yorktown Victory Center grew by 24.4 percent, to 253,143.
The largest gains were in the individual visitor segment. Ticket sales to individuals grew by more than half and accounted for 69 percent of total paid visitation at the two museums. More than 80 percent of these visitors came from outside Virginia. Group visitation grew by more than one quarter and comprised 31 percent of total visitation.
“New state-of-the-art museum exhibits and a variety of major special events, historical themes and educational programs had an important role in attracting visitors to Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center in 2007,” said Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Senior Director of Marketing and Retail Operations Susan Bak.
“Inclusion of our message in collective local and state promotional efforts that reached a national audience was key,” Bak said. “The Foundation worked closely with area partners, including Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens Europe and Historic Jamestowne, to encourage a longer length of stay by providing a number of cooperative ticket options to visit multiple attractions. Cooperative ticket sales accounted for about 20 percent of individual paid admissions.”
In addition to paid visitation, there were a total of 108,791 complimentary admissions – 61.5 percent more than in 2006 – at the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation museums in 2007, including residents of the City of Williamsburg and James City and York counties, children under 6, group escorts and promotional admissions.
Jamestown Settlement is located on State Route 31 just southwest of Williamsburg. The Yorktown Victory Center is on Route 1020 in Yorktown. The museums are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information, call (888) 593-4682 toll-free or (757) 253-4838.
