New charge for overseas visitors to Te Papa met with positive response

A new charge for overseas visitors to Te Papa in Wellington has been met with a positive response, with visitors saying they would expect to pay an admission fee to enter.

From Tuesday, Te Papa staff are greeting visitors when they enter the museum and asking where they are visiting from.

Those visiting from New Zealand are able to enter straight away while those visiting from overseas now have to pay a $35 entry fee.

John and Tom who were visiting from Chicago told RNZ for them the cost wasn't a deterrent.

"With the cost of the trip it's a small added price to pay for the whole experience," said John.

He said they were used to paying for museums at home.

Tom said at $35 Te Papa's pricing was similar to the pricier end of what he'd expect to pay.

Jessica and Claire were visiting the museum from Canada.

They too were used to paying for museums, but had read in a guidebook that Te Papa was free.

"On our drive here I was saying it's so surprising that it's free because all the museums you go to like in Canada or in the States there's usually a pretty substantial entry fee," said Jessica.

"When we got here and it was like out of country visitors pay, you're like 'ok makes sense'."

Jessica thought $35 was on par to cheaper than what she'd pay at home.

Caroline and Max hadn't been aware Te Papa had just started charging for overseas visitors but had expected they would have to pay to enter.

Caroline said they paid for museums at home in Britain and she was happy to pay to experience another country's culture.

Meanwhile for Duaan and Emma, Duaan as a local got to enter for free, while Emma as a visitor had to pay.

Duaan said now that visitors would now have to pay it could make the museum a less accessible option.