Participation in cultural activities on the decline

Local residents participating in cultural activities totaled 253,900, a participation rate of 56.7 percent, down by 2.3 percentage points, according to the latest data published by the government.

According to the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), a total of 300,000 individuals participated in the city’s cultural activities in the second quarter of 2018, slightly up by 0.3 percentage points year-on-year.

Analyzed by type of cultural activity, going to the cinema remained the most popular activity for residents, with 165,500 participants, a decrease of 4.6 percent year-on-year, while the activity’s participation rate fell by 2.2 percentage points to 37.0 percent.

Among these local residents, 30,000 had watched locally produced films and videos, down by 17.2 percent year-on-year.

Local residents going to libraries was up 1.6 percent year-on-year to 131,600, an increase of 0.1 percentage points to 29.4 percent. Students had a higher participation rate than non-students, at 76.8 percent and 25.1 percent respectively, with the difference between the two narrowing from 55.0 percentage points in the same quarter of 2017 to 51.7 percentage points.

Local residents visiting museums or World Heritage sites decreased by 12.8 percent year-on-year to 100,600.

The average visit per participant inched down by 0.2 to 3.1. Among these local residents, 69,700 visited museums and 66,600 visited World Heritage sites, down by 10.2 percent and 24.2 percent respectively year-on-year.

There were 81,100 local residents attending performances, up by 2.1 percent year-on-year. The average attendance per participant decreased by 0.5 to 2.1.

Music and dance performances recorded 60,200 participants, up by 4.7 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, theatre performances had 40,300 participants, down by 18.7 percent.

DSEC’s survey aimed to collect the information on participation in cultural activities by individuals aged over 16, six months prior to the date of interview.