Museums are of course far more than just places of study or education. They are places of entertainment as wel1. Museums have changed a good deal in the last twenty years. New methods of interpretation and display , and exciting new programmes and services, have all helped dispel the old fusty image. As we near the end of the twentieth century, museums are finding themselves in an increasingly competitive market place. They are confronted with their competitors more then ever before. The competitors. including cinemas , T.V. computer games. huge shopping malls. theme parks , package holidays. etc .. are all part of the leisure and tourism industry. Leisure time is increasing through shorter working hours and changing patterns of workl) . Such changing patterns of leisure time and leisure pursuits open up new opportunities for museums provided they are closely responsive to their markets. Whether museums like it or not. their users will be subject to such market pressures and experience such changes in leisure activities. The other fact that museums facing on is the changing of government policy. Since the late 1970's government policies throughout the word. especially in the case of Britain. have been in the process of making cuts in direct public funding to Museums. and it is pushing museums into the Market-place. with a consequent need to emphasise income generation and marketing as never before , Museums therefore need to be one or more steps ahead in catering for these new market developments. while maintaining their unique role in providing their audiences with access to collections. At the same time. museums must increasingly seize the initiative , not simply passively responding to events but actively seeking to shape them as far as possible. Museums have tended to be reactive rather than proactive. The current focus on management can enable museums to grasp more firmly why they exist. what they aim to achieve , and how this can most effectively be realised. From a management perspective. the current challenges are as much an opportunity as a threat. To maintain their place in such a competitive environment museums have begun to emphasise the importance of marketing, to satisfy the needs of visitors and develop new audiences.