With zoo attendance up in most parts of the continent, I was curious to see whether there are any patterns in zoo attendance and how many European zoos do actually pass the magical 1 million annual visitors mark.
Before we get to the list, there are a few notes to be made:
1) Visitor numbers do not give any true indication for the financial success/independence of the zoo, nor are they a particular good indicator for the quality of a zoo. There are several factors which significantly affect attendance as well, which I will discuss below. Off course quality does play a role, but it is not the most important.
2) Zoos are notorious in calculating visitor numbers in their own way. As a general rule reported visitor numbers are higher than the actual visitor numbers, but this is not always true. I have highlighted the zoos that report actual visitor numbers in bold, there might be more zoos around that do that, which I do not know about, if so let me know.
3) I have included free entries in the total number, if they were listed separate. As noted before attendance numbers is not so much about finance, but more an indication as to how popular a zoo is.
4) Visitor numbers are always approximations, so unless you know the exact visitor number, it is impossible to correctly directly compare two zoos. As a general rule there is, I think, a 30% error margin between reported and actual visitor numbers. This is most influenced by how zoos count their annual pass holders.
5) Though this list is exhaustive it is not complete. The vast majority of data are taken from the data from the International Zoo Yearbook and thus mostly reflect attendance of 2017 or 2018. In a few exceptions (most notably Wildlands & Pairi Daiza) I have used 2019 numbers. For zoos not represented in the IZY I used the internet, most helpful was www.leszoosdanslemonde.com. I have indicated with an * I have low trust in the reported number.
6) This list is a non-exhaustive list of zoos with more than 100.000 annual visitors, I think all major zoos are included with a few notable exceptions: Cabarceno, Cine-Aqua Paris, Poema del Mar and others.
So now on to the list:
1.Berlin Zoo & Aquarium........................... 2.953.178 **
2.Moscow Zoo .......................................... 2.904.900
3.Lyon Zoo................................................. 2.500.000 *
4.Munich Tierpark Hellabrunn.................... 2.498.377
5.Pairi Daiza .............................................. 2.164.457
6.Vienna Tiergarten Schönbrunn .............. 1.982.143
7.Chester Zoo ........................................... 1.866.628
8.Leipzig Zoo............................................. 1.709.491
9.Wroclaw Zoo .......................................... 1.688.555
10.Barcelona Aquarium............................. 1.675.735
11. Stuttgart Wilhelma.............................. 1.597.181
12. Beauval Zooparc.................................. 1.550.000
13. Hamburg Tierpark Hagenbeck............. 1.500.000 ***
14. Rotterdam Diergaarde Blijdorp............. 1.500.000
15. Bern Bärenpark.................................... 1.500.000 *
16. Malton Flamingo Land.......................... 1.500.000 *
17. Chessington World of Adventures ....... 1.487.914
18. Prague Zoo .......................................... 1.448.353
19. Berlin Tierpark...................................... 1.427.920
20. Amsterdam Natura Artis Magistra.... 1.411.908
21. Stockholm Skansen Zoo...................... 1.400.000
22. Lisbon Oceanario................................. 1.360.582
23. Genova Acquario................................. 1.230.000
24. Zürich Zoo.......................................... 1.209.198
25. Moscow Moskvarium .......................... 1.200.000
26. Valencia l'Oceanografic....................... 1.200.000
27. Antwerp Zoo........................................ 1.180.000
28. Cologne Zoo ...................................... 1.160.464
29. Arnhem Burgers' Zoo........................1.157.868
30. Copenhagen Zoo ................................ 1.147.600
31. Nürnberg Tiergarten............................. 1.135.515
32. London Zoo ......................................... 1.100.899
33. Budapest Zoo ...................................... 1.092.284
34. Rhenen Ouwehands Dierenpark ......... 1.060.000
35. Kristiansand Dyrepark.......................... 1.025.096
36. Dublin Zoo............................................ 1.018.728
37. Basel Zoo ........................................... 1.018.316
38. Hannover Erlebniszoo........................ 1.015.524
39. Karlsruhe Zoo ...................................... 1.010.435
40. Puerto de la Cruz, Loro Parque .......... 1.000.000 *
41. London Aquarium................................ 1.000.000 *
*Low certainty on reported number
**This excludes double counting of visitors of the Aquarium, but is still an overestimate because of use of the VDZ key
***Likely double counts Tropen-Aquarium visitors
This gives a total of 41 zoos & aquaria with a reported attendance of over 1 million, with the following breakdown by country:
10 in Germany
5 in the UK
4 in the Netherlands
3 in Spain and Switzerland
2 in Russia, France & Belgium
1 each in Austria, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal and Hungary
There are four things that most certainly help to have many visitors
1) Be in a tourist hotspot: this is the main factor explaining the presence of Loro Parque, London Aquarium, Barcelona Aquarium on this list and is an important reason why others like Artis and Skansen are so high on the list.
2) Combine a themepark with a zoo, this most certainly explains the presence of Kristiansand, Malton Flamingo Land & Chessington
3) Be free, otherwise the Bärenpark in Bern and the Zoo in Lyon would not be on here. Also roughly half of Zoo Moscows visits are free entries.
4) Creative counting doesn't hurt, visitor numbers of Zoo Berlin and Tierpark Hellabrun in Munich are approx. 20-25% higher then the actual numbers due to the use of the VDZ key, which inflates visitor numbers.
Zoos like Dublin, Vienna, Zoo Berlin, Copenhagen, London and Prague do certainly profit from being located in the capital and a tourist hotspot, but they are also the de facto national zoo in their respective country, if only historical.
In general there are multiple factors that explain visitor numbers, I have highlighted some extreme examples above. But in general location does seem to be a main driver, being close to large cities is better. Though it certainly helps to have a unique selling point/a good marketing department and this can elevate a zoo to a new platform. Pairi Daiza (and Beauval to a lesser extent) are in the middle of nowhere, but extremely successful in selling a unique experience. Other zoos that offer something unique compared to the surrounding zoos can also score high, like Burgers' Zoo, but not to that level and there are plenty of unique zoos form our perspective like Alpenzoo, Doue-la-Fontaine and Walsrode that do nog even attract more than 250.000 visitors.
My expectation is that within 5 years Pairi Daiza will top the charts.
Before we get to the list, there are a few notes to be made:
1) Visitor numbers do not give any true indication for the financial success/independence of the zoo, nor are they a particular good indicator for the quality of a zoo. There are several factors which significantly affect attendance as well, which I will discuss below. Off course quality does play a role, but it is not the most important.
2) Zoos are notorious in calculating visitor numbers in their own way. As a general rule reported visitor numbers are higher than the actual visitor numbers, but this is not always true. I have highlighted the zoos that report actual visitor numbers in bold, there might be more zoos around that do that, which I do not know about, if so let me know.
3) I have included free entries in the total number, if they were listed separate. As noted before attendance numbers is not so much about finance, but more an indication as to how popular a zoo is.
4) Visitor numbers are always approximations, so unless you know the exact visitor number, it is impossible to correctly directly compare two zoos. As a general rule there is, I think, a 30% error margin between reported and actual visitor numbers. This is most influenced by how zoos count their annual pass holders.
5) Though this list is exhaustive it is not complete. The vast majority of data are taken from the data from the International Zoo Yearbook and thus mostly reflect attendance of 2017 or 2018. In a few exceptions (most notably Wildlands & Pairi Daiza) I have used 2019 numbers. For zoos not represented in the IZY I used the internet, most helpful was www.leszoosdanslemonde.com. I have indicated with an * I have low trust in the reported number.
6) This list is a non-exhaustive list of zoos with more than 100.000 annual visitors, I think all major zoos are included with a few notable exceptions: Cabarceno, Cine-Aqua Paris, Poema del Mar and others.
So now on to the list:
1.Berlin Zoo & Aquarium........................... 2.953.178 **
2.Moscow Zoo .......................................... 2.904.900
3.Lyon Zoo................................................. 2.500.000 *
4.Munich Tierpark Hellabrunn.................... 2.498.377
5.Pairi Daiza .............................................. 2.164.457
6.Vienna Tiergarten Schönbrunn .............. 1.982.143
7.Chester Zoo ........................................... 1.866.628
8.Leipzig Zoo............................................. 1.709.491
9.Wroclaw Zoo .......................................... 1.688.555
10.Barcelona Aquarium............................. 1.675.735
11. Stuttgart Wilhelma.............................. 1.597.181
12. Beauval Zooparc.................................. 1.550.000
13. Hamburg Tierpark Hagenbeck............. 1.500.000 ***
14. Rotterdam Diergaarde Blijdorp............. 1.500.000
15. Bern Bärenpark.................................... 1.500.000 *
16. Malton Flamingo Land.......................... 1.500.000 *
17. Chessington World of Adventures ....... 1.487.914
18. Prague Zoo .......................................... 1.448.353
19. Berlin Tierpark...................................... 1.427.920
20. Amsterdam Natura Artis Magistra.... 1.411.908
21. Stockholm Skansen Zoo...................... 1.400.000
22. Lisbon Oceanario................................. 1.360.582
23. Genova Acquario................................. 1.230.000
24. Zürich Zoo.......................................... 1.209.198
25. Moscow Moskvarium .......................... 1.200.000
26. Valencia l'Oceanografic....................... 1.200.000
27. Antwerp Zoo........................................ 1.180.000
28. Cologne Zoo ...................................... 1.160.464
29. Arnhem Burgers' Zoo........................1.157.868
30. Copenhagen Zoo ................................ 1.147.600
31. Nürnberg Tiergarten............................. 1.135.515
32. London Zoo ......................................... 1.100.899
33. Budapest Zoo ...................................... 1.092.284
34. Rhenen Ouwehands Dierenpark ......... 1.060.000
35. Kristiansand Dyrepark.......................... 1.025.096
36. Dublin Zoo............................................ 1.018.728
37. Basel Zoo ........................................... 1.018.316
38. Hannover Erlebniszoo........................ 1.015.524
39. Karlsruhe Zoo ...................................... 1.010.435
40. Puerto de la Cruz, Loro Parque .......... 1.000.000 *
41. London Aquarium................................ 1.000.000 *
*Low certainty on reported number
**This excludes double counting of visitors of the Aquarium, but is still an overestimate because of use of the VDZ key
***Likely double counts Tropen-Aquarium visitors
This gives a total of 41 zoos & aquaria with a reported attendance of over 1 million, with the following breakdown by country:
10 in Germany
5 in the UK
4 in the Netherlands
3 in Spain and Switzerland
2 in Russia, France & Belgium
1 each in Austria, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal and Hungary
There are four things that most certainly help to have many visitors
1) Be in a tourist hotspot: this is the main factor explaining the presence of Loro Parque, London Aquarium, Barcelona Aquarium on this list and is an important reason why others like Artis and Skansen are so high on the list.
2) Combine a themepark with a zoo, this most certainly explains the presence of Kristiansand, Malton Flamingo Land & Chessington
3) Be free, otherwise the Bärenpark in Bern and the Zoo in Lyon would not be on here. Also roughly half of Zoo Moscows visits are free entries.
4) Creative counting doesn't hurt, visitor numbers of Zoo Berlin and Tierpark Hellabrun in Munich are approx. 20-25% higher then the actual numbers due to the use of the VDZ key, which inflates visitor numbers.
Zoos like Dublin, Vienna, Zoo Berlin, Copenhagen, London and Prague do certainly profit from being located in the capital and a tourist hotspot, but they are also the de facto national zoo in their respective country, if only historical.
In general there are multiple factors that explain visitor numbers, I have highlighted some extreme examples above. But in general location does seem to be a main driver, being close to large cities is better. Though it certainly helps to have a unique selling point/a good marketing department and this can elevate a zoo to a new platform. Pairi Daiza (and Beauval to a lesser extent) are in the middle of nowhere, but extremely successful in selling a unique experience. Other zoos that offer something unique compared to the surrounding zoos can also score high, like Burgers' Zoo, but not to that level and there are plenty of unique zoos form our perspective like Alpenzoo, Doue-la-Fontaine and Walsrode that do nog even attract more than 250.000 visitors.
My expectation is that within 5 years Pairi Daiza will top the charts.
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