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Museums and attractions warn of lower attendance and federal grant cuts
Summary
Museum and attraction leaders told lawmakers that attendance trends and federal funding reductions are reducing earned and grant income that supports local outreach and exhibits.
Museum and attraction leaders told the joint House and Senate committees that their institutions are a steady tourism asset but face falling attendance and cuts to federal support that fund exhibits and community programs.
“Two thirds of leisure travelers visit a museum or attraction when they're traveling,” Nina Rodevigno said. Rodevigno introduced herself as Director of Programs and Strategy at the ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain in Burlington and highlighted museums’ role in year‑round tourism and shoulder‑season visitation.
Rodevigno said museums are showing early signs of recessionary behavior, citing a New England Museum Association finding that average attendance fell about 15% in February; she also said consumer confidence metrics for museum visitation are down. She warned that recent federal changes affecting agencies such as the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the National Endowment for the Humanities have caused grant cancellations and layoffs.
“Institute of Museum of Library Services, which supports museums and libraries, all their staff have been laid off,” Rodevigno said, adding that the IMLS supported approximately $3,000,000 in competitive grants to Vermont museums over the past decade and that some local grants were canceled without timely reimbursement.
ECHO staff said the institution is investing in bilingual exhibits and plans to open a renovated main gallery with a larger tank and a CHAMP (Lake Champlain monster) exhibit to boost visitation, but that tariffs, higher construction costs and operating expenses are compounding fiscal pressure.
Leaders asked lawmakers to recognize museums as part of a diversified tourism economy that supports multi‑day itineraries, indoor options during poor weather and community programming funded by a mix of earned revenue and grants. No formal action was taken at the hearing.
