Museums and historical sites are mainly visited by tourists, not the local people. Why is this so? What could be done to encourage more local visitors? Please include relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

One of the main reasons why thousands of visitors travel all around the world annually is exploring different cultures and histories, which are unknown to them. Museums and old monuments are places where tourists can learn about different nations. However, a search on the lists of the sold museums' tickets reveals that local residents are not enthusiastic about visiting historical places located in their own city or country. This essay, therefore, is in identifying the main causes of the latter issue and finding ways to motivate local individuals attend museums.

As the word tourist implies, a tourist aims to visit all the attractions of the place he/she visits, and museums are always among them. In other words, a visitor has only one goal, which is visiting all interesting areas of a country. However, local people have to deal with their daily routine life, including shopping, working, studying, etc. They are not in a vacation as a visitor is. Furthermore, the cultural and historical identities of a specific populace are captivating for tourists who know almost nothing about them. On the other hand, locals live their culture and study their histories in schools; thus, none of the above-mentioned tourist attractions are new for locals, discouraging them to go to places like museums.

Systematic and effective advertising would give locals incentive to visit museums and ancient constructions. For example, by distribution of brochures among people, they will realize what new information is offered by such places. TV as one of the most influential media can play a pivotal role in this respect too. Producing and showing short videos, introducing old building, war museums or even art galleries, on TV would increase the level of awareness of locals about what they do not know about their nations. Providing elderly and students with concession cards is another method to encourage more local people to visit museums. The latter solution has recognized a proficient way in Australia, since cheaper tickets act like a magnet, drawing people's attention.

To sum up, the familiarity of local people with their own cultures and their involvement in life's difficulties while they are not in holiday can be counted as the main factors preventing them from visiting museums or historical regions. However, constructive promotions and applying subsidies on tickets for locals would effectively increase the number of local visitors.