Auckland War Memorial Museum has delivered its first visitor report of the 2009/2010 year to its Trust Board, showing broad increases in visitation for the first quarter of the financial year.

This marks a new form of quarterly reporting to be made by the Museum, as it analyses its overall health as an organisation via its contribution to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of the region.

The Museum reported 182,887 visits in July, August, and September, putting the Museum on target to exceed 700,000 annual visitors for the first time in more than ten years.

A key factor in the Museum's ability to accurately report on its visitation in a timely manner is the installation of a sophisticated new visitor tracking system that allows far more accurate totals than the hand-counts and till-counts of previous years.

"We've known for a while now that people come to the Museum for many different reasons," says Auckland Museum Director Dr Vanda Vitali. "We have businesses from Newmarket holding meetings in our caf and break-out rooms, students studying in our Library, our Fabulous Fridays group talks - we can finally now fully capture the entire span of visitation, and respond more completely to our visitors' and communities' needs."

"We are pleased to share these exciting results with Aucklanders because the Museum's health is a strong indicator of reinvigoration of the region after a time of economic downturn," concludes Dr Vitali.

This information comes as the Museum marked birthday celebrations for the building on 30 October, carrying through to its annual Armistice ceremony on 11 November.

The last weekend of October marked the initial rollout of new facilities in the Museum's Grand Foyer, which have been refurbished to better accommodate increased visitor flow and comfort. The weekend also saw the debut of the Museum's new external lighting system, a major project to replace its older, less energy-efficient illumination.

"We are preparing for the biggest lead-in to our holiday season ever," says Dr Vitali. "We listen to all our visitor feedback, and with increasing numbers arriving, we are working to give everyone better amenities and a more comfortable, welcoming start to their day here."