Attendance At Australian Zoos & Aquariums

[Jarkari]

Jarkari - what is the current visitation figure for TWPZ?

Interesting to note that in western Queensland, every [without exception] major tourist attraction reported peak visitation figures in it's first year of operation and gradually declining figures for each subsequent year.

I hope this statement isn't proving true for you.

I believe figures are sitting around 200,000.

Within a few years of opening the zoo achieved over 300,000 visitors, Quite an achievement, but I also believe road trips were alot more common in the late 70's early 80's.

 

[MRJ]

Halls Gap - got to say the best word I have for their plans is "adventurous", of course I wish them good luck.

Sometimes you type something without really giving it enough thought and the above is one of those times. Somebody quite rightly pointed out to me that the above just doesn't sound right, it could be seen as a criticism of Halls Gap, which is not what I intended. Good thing is that I have since had the opportunity to chat with Greg from Halls Gap, and learn how he has increased attendances there by 300% in the last two years, an outstanding achievement. I'm sure everybody who has looked in the photo albums has been impressed with their new developments, with great plans for the future. And I really do wish them the best of luck.

 

[Simon Hampel]

By the way - Mogo zoo is only a short drive from Batemans Bay, which is considered to be the "beachside suburb" of Canberra. I know plenty of people who live in Canberra who regularly drive down to BB for a break ... so the effective catchment area of Mogo is actually quite a bit higher than you might first think.

 

[CGSwans]

By the way - Mogo zoo is only a short drive from Batemans Bay, which is considered to be the "beachside suburb" of Canberra. I know plenty of people who live in Canberra who regularly drive down to BB for a break ... so the effective catchment area of Mogo is actually quite a bit higher than you might first think.

I'm aware that BB is the 'local' beach for Canberrans. Do you think, though, that Mogo does particularly well out of visitors from Canberra? They do have the National Zoo and Aquarium, which has most (though not all, admittedly) of the animals that Mogo has, and more besides. Mogo has a far better primate collection, but that's probably balanced by NZA's better carnivore and natives collections.

I crave knowledge of how many people go to these two institutions. Australia Zoo, btw, claims on its website that corporate sponsors would reach "over 700,000" visitors annually. For the animals it has on display and the prices it charges, it's a marketing phenomenon!

 

[Voxael]

It took me quite some time, but by scavenging the internet I managed to compile a list of the average annual attendance at 15 zoos, aquariums and wildlife parks all around Australia. Many of the numbers are fairly accurate, give or take, as they were taken from the latest annual report. However, some of the numbers were found in newspaper articles and other links and I'm hoping that they are within a few thousand of the exact total.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the relatively low figures for both Adelaide and Monarto, as the giant panda circus arrives soon and I expect that those visitor numbers will at the very least DOUBLE in the first year. If anyone else has any other attendance figures for places with 100,000 visitors or more than feel free to let me know! For instance, Australia Zoo is one that I couldn't find any attendance figures for.

AUSTRALIAN ZOOS & AQUARIUMS

Annual Attendance:

Sea World (Gold Coast Australia) – 1.3 million
Taronga Zoo – 1.2 million
Sydney Aquarium – 1.2 million
Melbourne Zoo – 1 million
Melbourne Aquarium – 850,000 (including the boost from the penguins)
Perth Zoo – 650,000
Sydney Wildlife World – 600,000
Adelaide Zoo – 400,000
AQWA (Aquarium of Western Australia) – 400,000
Mooloolaba Underwater World – 400,000
Werribee Open Range Zoo – 310,000
Healesville Sanctuary – 300,000
Taronga Western Plains Zoo – 200,000
Monarto Zoo – 120,000
Alice Springs Desert Park – 100,000

Sorry to bump such an old thread but I was wondering if anyone had updated attendance figures for Australian Zoos and Aquariums?

I'm doing an Honours project at the moment and have worldwide figures but I know my supervisor will want to know about Australia specifically.

Cheers

 

[MRJ]

Sorry to bump such an old thread but I was wondering if anyone had updated attendance figures for Australian Zoos and Aquariums?

I'm doing an Honours project at the moment and have worldwide figures but I know my supervisor will want to know about Australia specifically.

Cheers

ZAA would be happy to supply you with the gross annual attendance figures of all it's members, but would not give you a breakdown. All the government zoos publish their annual attendance figures in their annual reports, which can be accessed online. Private zoos for obvious reasons would not be so forthcoming.

 

[Voxael]

ZAA would be happy to supply you with the gross annual attendance figures of all it's members, but would not give you a breakdown. All the government zoos publish their annual attendance figures in their annual reports, which can be accessed online. Private zoos for obvious reasons would not be so forthcoming.

Thanks MRJ - I'll reach out to ZAA, all I need is general figures at the moment anyway so they should be able to give me what I need.

 

[steveroberts]

Hey by any chance does anyone think a small private zoo around Busselton, WA might hypothetically be a self sustainable place (1 hour approx from Bunbury, Manjimup, Bridgetown, Margaret River, Augusta to name some of the 'catchment' towns)?

I mean on the scale of Altina, Darling Downs, Hunter, National, Mogo etc

 

[MRJ]

Hey by any chance does anyone think a small private zoo around Busselton, WA might hypothetically be a self sustainable place (1 hour approx from Bunbury, Manjimup, Bridgetown, Margaret River, Augusta to name some of the 'catchment' towns)?

I mean on the scale of Altina, Darling Downs, Hunter, National, Mogo etc

Based on the towns you mentioned the catchment population would be about 120,000. It would be reasonable to expect an annual visitation of 25% of this number, or 30,000 per annum. If you can achieve an average return of $25 per visitor that gives you an income of $750,000 per annum. That is not a lot of money considering what you would have to spend.

 

[tetrapod]

Based on the towns you mentioned the catchment population would be about 120,000. It would be reasonable to expect an annual visitation of 25% of this number, or 30,000 per annum. If you can achieve an average return of $25 per visitor that gives you an income of $750,000 per annum. That is not a lot of money considering what you would have to spend.

I think Steve is working on the idea that it has a much larger visitor population compared to those living there. Don't know what the numbers are like but it could be possible. There is already a reptile-themed park nearby: Discover Deadly

 

[MRJ]

I think Steve is working on the idea that it has a much larger visitor population compared to those living there. Don't know what the numbers are like but it could be possible. There is already a reptile-themed park nearby: Discover Deadly

In which case he should approach the local tourism authority who will have a lot of the information regarding visitor numbers and makeup. I don't know much about the region, except that Margaret River has a reputation as a wine making region. Wine tourists don't visit zoos. What he needs to know is the number of families visiting the region. Compare that with the number of families visiting say, the Bateman Bay region, the catchment for Mogo Zoo, which will give some idea about viability. International visitors are great, however are primarily interested in native fauna, and may in fact be put off by a conventional "zoo" of exotics.

 

[tetrapod]

In which case he should approach the local tourism authority who will have a lot of the information regarding visitor numbers and makeup. I don't know much about the region, except that Margaret River has a reputation as a wine making region. Wine tourists don't visit zoos. What he needs to know is the number of families visiting the region. Compare that with the number of families visiting say, the Bateman Bay region, the catchment for Mogo Zoo, which will give some idea about viability. International visitors are great, however are primarily interested in native fauna, and may in fact be put off by a conventional "zoo" of exotics.

Really disappointed in you MRJ - why haven't you been to Margaret River??? The wider area is far more than wineries. A real gastro-tourist spot, yes, but also caves, beaches, scenic walks, tall trees and all the touristy stuff that goes along with it. Plenty of WA local and foreign visitors, but I have no idea of numbers or split. Batemans's Bay is a good analogue.

 

[MRJ]

Really disappointed in you MRJ - why haven't you been to Margaret River??? The wider area is far more than wineries. A real gastro-tourist spot, yes, but also caves, beaches, scenic walks, tall trees and all the touristy stuff that goes along with it. Plenty of WA local and foreign visitors, but I have no idea of numbers or split. Batemans's Bay is a good analogue.

Well I do come from a region with all of that and more. (OK not caves). Plus I did have a trip planned for September that would have included spawning giant cuttlefish, right whales mating, numbats and more however was banned from WA so what can I do?

 

[tetrapod]

Well I do come from a region with all of that and more. (OK not caves). Plus I did have a trip planned for September that would have included spawning giant cuttlefish, right whales mating, numbats and more however was banned from WA so what can I do?

Sounds like a really nice trip planned, so hopefully you will get there if they ever open the borders again!

 

[steveroberts]

Based on the towns you mentioned the catchment population would be about 120,000. It would be reasonable to expect an annual visitation of 25% of this number, or 30,000 per annum. If you can achieve an average return of $25 per visitor that gives you an income of $750,000 per annum. That is not a lot of money considering what you would have to spend.

Hey btw MRJ I was wondering what percentage of every individual admission fee would be a return financially. Say from a $25 adult admission fee would a certain % of that $25 go towards covering the visitor's insurance or anything of that nature?

 

[MRJ]

Hey btw MRJ I was wondering what percentage of every individual admission fee would be a return financially. Say from a $25 adult admission fee would a certain % of that $25 go towards covering the visitor's insurance or anything of that nature?

It does not work like that. If you are in retail, for instance selling books, you buy a book for $6 and sell it for $10, and the $4 is called gross profit, from which you pay all the set expenses of the business and take a profit. For zoos almost 100% of admission is gross profit. Deduct business expenses, including the cost of maintaining the animal collection and you have the profit/loss.

 

[steveroberts]

Oh right yeah that makes sense. The reason I made the mistaken assumption is reading an old annual report of Perth Zoo I miscalculated the gate admissions revenue versus against that financial years annual attendance and forgot that a significant portion of attendees would be free entry like children under 4.