LCQ3: Sustainable development of public museums
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Question:
There are views that on the premise of not affecting public services, public museums should proactively expand diversified revenue channels. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the (i) income, (ii) expenditure, (iii) total attendance, and (iv) average facility utilisation rate of all museums under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) Authority respectively in each of the past five years;
(2) of the respective annual remuneration of the top five senior management personnel of the Hong Kong Palace Museum and M+ since the official commencement of operations; moreover, as it is reported that over 10 self-service donation kiosks will be installed at various venues across the WKCD starting from the 1st of this month to encourage members of the public to support the development of arts and culture, whether it knows the expenditure on purchasing such donation kiosks, the estimated maintenance costs, and the estimated amount of donations to be received in the next three years; and
(3) of the latest progress, costs involved and expected economic gains of the authorities' introduction of market-based business models into museums under the LCSD; whether there are plans to promote collaborations between museums under the LCSD and private enterprises for strategic brand crossovers and franchising, so as to develop more diversified revenue sources?
Reply:
President,
Museums play a vital role in cultural inheritance and social education. The Government continuously reviews the development and future plans of the 15 museums under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), in order to meet the general public's need for museums and art appreciation. Meanwhile, to promote the diverse development of Hong Kong's local cultural ecosystem, the Government drives the development of the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) project, providing the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) with a one-off upfront endowment of $21.6 billion and the development rights of the land within the WKCD for constructing and operating the WKCD project on a self-financing basis.
My reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Pui-leung is as follows:
(1) The public mission of museums under the LCSD is to preserve and promote tangible and intangible cultural heritage. In addition to organising exhibitions on various subjects, such as visual arts, history, culture, science and technology, the museums also actively provide broad access to cultural education and services (such as lectures, demonstrations, workshops and roving exhibitions). Since August 2016, with the approval of the Legislative Council, the Government has been offering free admission to permanent exhibitions of museums, while charging a modest admission fee for the permanent exhibitions of the Hong Kong Science Museum and the Hong Kong Space Museum to meet their operational needs. This arrangement is in line with the practice adopted by public museums in the Chinese Mainland, where permanent exhibitions are generally open to the public free of charge. Although LCSD museums are not operated primarily for profit, they actively generate revenue from various sources, including tickets sales for film screenings, licence fees from shops and cafes, rental charges for hiring facilities, and sales of cultural and creative products.
As for the WKCD, both M+ and the Hong Kong Palace Museum have proactively expanded their revenue streams. A number of exhibitions and cultural and creative products of the two museums have been well-received by the public. Currently, admission income, sponsorships, and commercial revenue (including venue hiring, cultural and creative products), each accounts for about one-third of the total income. The combined income of the two museums in 2025-26 increased by more than 20 per cent compared to the previous year.
Detailed data of the museums under the LCSD and the WKCDA are set out in Annex I.
(2) There are a total of seven senior executives in the two museums of the WKCD, with the total remuneration expenditure amounting to approximately $20.9 million in 2025-26. When determining the pay adjustment, the WKCDA takes into account multiple factors, including Hong Kong's market pay and economic conditions, the staff turnover rate and financial position of the Authority, and the work performances and existing pay positions of the executives. Please refer to Annex II for details.
Fundraising income is one of the most important income sources of the WKCD and accounts for about one-third of the overall recurrent operating income. In 2025-26, the fundraising income of the WKCDA reached $219 million, representing an increase of over 30 per cent compared to the previous financial year. The WKCDA draws on the experience of overseas cultural institutions in attracting individual donations, and installed self-service donation kiosks in the museums, performing arts venues and other venues in the WKCD since July 1 this year, to facilitate the public to support the WKCD in promoting arts and culture development. There is no additional cost implication to the WKCDA, as the self-service donations kiosks are developed and manufactured by a technology company which will also cover the operating expenses. The objective of the WKCDA is to foster public support and participation in the development of arts and culture, and the self-service donation kiosks primarily solicit small donations which are not expected to account for a substantial proportion of the overall fundraising income.
(3) The 2025 Policy Address has announced that the LCSD will introduce market-based business models in designated facilities to provide more diverse value-added activities. These include leasing out museums on their closing days for commercial or private use and opening up more venues for hire. In this connection, the LCSD invited the submission of Expressions of Interest (EOIs) in end 2025 regarding the introduction of a market-oriented operation model at relevant facilities. A total of 14 EOIs were received. The respondents included organisations engaged in event or advertising planning, as well as property development companies, among which a number of concepts and proposals were of reference value. The LCSD increased the number of venues available for hire in the tender in response to the suggestions made in the EOIs and invited tenders in April 2026 for introducing market-based business models at 26 designated LCSD facilities, such as the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Hong Kong Science Museum. It is anticipated that operators will be appointed by the end of 2026. The associated revenue and costs will be subject to the monthly fee levels proposed by the successful bidders, and the actual expenses involved in the activities. Following the implementation of the initiative, the LCSD will continuously assess its economic benefits.
The LCSD has all along welcomed crossover collaborations with corporations and commercial brands, aiming to leverage their branding impact to promote museum activities and programme. Crossover products previously launched through collaborations between the LCSD museums and commercial brands include phone cases, food products, and brick sets. Looking forward, the LCSD will continue to explore more collaborative initiatives under market-based business models. Thank you, President.
Ends/Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Issued at HKT 14:09
Issued at HKT 14:09
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