MOMU Motorsports Museum in Turba to close this summer
The Motorsports Museum in Turba, Harju County, will close its doors at the end of August and lay off its staff. Foreign tourism has not recovered, and for the first time in the museum's eight years of operation, it is clear that Estonians have too little money for museum visits.
The Motorsport Museum, which has operated for eight years in the former Ellamaa power plant, has survived the downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic, the loss of Finnish and St. Petersburg tourist groups and a three-and-a-half-fold increase in electricity prices.
"We managed to get through all of that because even last year we were able to break even with various new projects," said the museum's founder, Arno Sillat. "But this year we have to admit that tax hikes have hit our main clientele — local people, since the others have fallen away — and their purchasing power has dropped significantly."
The first signs of trouble appeared in the winter, when souvenir sales declined. By July it was clear that visitor numbers this year were down by a third, forcing the privately run museum to make a difficult choice.
Employees have already received redundancy notices and the museum will close its doors on August 31.
"In November or December we'll brainstorm whether and how we move forward," Sillat said, acknowledging that the outlook is rather uncertain.
"Our task today is to find activities for the motorsport museum that aren't tied to the same factors. Considering today's situation, maybe we should be producing grenades in one of the halls. That's topical and would make money. Or perhaps something else," Sillat said.
A few years ago, for example, the number of visitors grew significantly thanks to an unusually shaped garden built in the museum courtyard.
Last year, one-third of all visitors came specifically to see the garden designed in the shape of the Pirita-Kose-Kloostrimetsa racing circuit. The garden, designed by Eveli Ustav, was named Estonia's most beautiful flowerbed this year.
Sillat has been documenting motorsport history for 40 years, and if the museum remains permanently closed, the deposited exhibits will be returned to their owners, while part of the collection will likely go to the Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum.
According to Üllar Suvemaa, CEO of Laitse Rally Park, it is not possible to make a living by running a private museum alone.
"If the museum isn't doing well, maybe the driving school or karting is. We offset the losses with other services and activities," Suvemaa said.
While Estonians continue to visit Laitse, foreign tourists have not been seen there since the beginning of the pandemic. Yet, Suvemaa noted, foreign visitors are crucial clients for museums.
"There's absolutely no movement. Statistics may say there are a few more people in Tallinn restaurants or hotel occupancy is a bit higher, but the fact is that tourists don't travel beyond that," Suvemaa said.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski, Valner Väino
