Chester Zoo Social Distancing at Chester Zoo

[Andrew Swales]

Its not all Chester's fault, its probably a mixture of three factors.

1. The government not setting any rules on re-opening regarding numbers allowed.
2. Chester zoo for allowing the numbers, although I suspect many places will want to try and get as much money in as they can right now, so not sure I can criticise them much, plus being a big visitor attraction means they were always going to get people going.
3. The general public are generally ignoring social distancing but then if you look at the governments briefing today they where pushing people to go out and about and spend money.

This will be an issue every where I suspect, and if its not you are very lucky.

Some comments on this:

1 - this is true, but I don't think it can be used as a reason here. Zoos have had no guidelines from the UK Government, but footfall limits have been set by many other countries, some well ahead of the UK on the 'curve'. This data is readily available. In our case at Hamerton, we used it along with advice from our Heath+Safety consultants, and experience from the weekends running up to lock-down back in March. There is no way of knowing how other Zoos arrived at their figures...
2 - from what I remember Chester's re-opening plans were supported and formally approved by their MP(s) and their local authority. Other zoos had to go-it-alone as they had no such help.
3 - here at least the public are not 'generally ignoring' social distancing; the opposite in fact, they are generally very responsible. A few are not unfortunately, but every day is different, and we have had days with some congestion when visitor numbers were substantially lower than others with full quota attendance and no issues. The site and our systems remain unchanged; the variable is a combination of the public, the weather and live animals. Pre-booked tickets to comply with our self-set and expected quotas, means that people have to visit and cannot be flexible as they could in the past. The situation is far more complex than many a commentators opinion.

The real issue is partly that peoples definitions of 'issues' are different. As an 'industry', we have always been used to a wide range of opinion from visitors, so I guess opinions on social distancing, the pros-and-cons of one way systems, levels of visitation, numbers of visitors etc will also provoke differences of opinion. An example is, on occasion we sell multiple season tickets costing three figures on the same day when other people attempt to blackmail us into offering refunds due to 'all the pens being empty'. Modern social media speeds up and anonymizes these differences, and we certainly cannot please all of the people all of the time...

You are right about the Governments messages being so mixed. The TV adverts warning people that they would die if they left their house have only just stopped; now the Govertnment wants to get indoor enclosed restaurants 'buzzing again'....

 

[Sand Cat]

Some comments on this:

1 - this is true, but I don't think it can be used as a reason here. Zoos have had no guidelines from the UK Government, but footfall limits have been set by many other countries, some well ahead of the UK on the 'curve'. This data is readily available. In our case at Hamerton, we used it along with advice from our Heath+Safety consultants, and experience from the weekends running up to lock-down back in March. There is no way of knowing how other Zoos arrived at their figures...
2 - from what I remember Chester's re-opening plans were supported and formally approved by their MP(s) and their local authority. Other zoos had to go-it-alone as they had no such help.
3 - here at least the public are not 'generally ignoring' social distancing; the opposite in fact, they are generally very responsible. A few are not unfortunately, but every day is different, and we have had days with some congestion when visitor numbers were substantially lower than others with full quota attendance and no issues. The site and our systems remain unchanged; the variable is a combination of the public, the weather and live animals. Pre-booked tickets to comply with our self-set and expected quotas, means that people have to visit and cannot be flexible as they could in the past. The situation is far more complex than many a commentators opinion.

The real issue is partly that peoples definitions of 'issues' are different. As an 'industry', we have always been used to a wide range of opinion from visitors, so I guess opinions on social distancing, the pros-and-cons of one way systems, levels of visitation, numbers of visitors etc will also provoke differences of opinion. An example is, on occasion we sell multiple season tickets costing three figures on the same day when other people attempt to blackmail us into offering refunds due to 'all the pens being empty'. Modern social media speeds up and anonymizes these differences, and we certainly cannot please all of the people all of the time...

You are right about the Governments messages being so mixed. The TV adverts warning people that they would die if they left their house have only just stopped; now the Govertnment wants to get indoor enclosed restaurants 'buzzing again'....

This is definitely the case. For me personally, I tend to be more wary than most people, so seeing people who have felt uncomfortable at zoos strongly suggests I'd feel that way too. Just thinking about some of the situations I've seen described makes me feel anxious, and sadly thats not a risk I can justify taking for what is meant to be a 'fun' day out. If I really want to support them I'd rather adopt an animal, buy something from an online gift shop or simply make a donation, instead of go and probably end up having a panic attack and having to leave early.

Another issue is that pretty much everyone has different ideas about how rules should be applied - I think some places are getting a lot right, but maybe not doing enough in one or two areas. Others may be getting those areas right, by which I mean being very cautious, but being very laid-back in other areas.

I did see mention the other day that the staff at Chester's catering outlets are not wearing gloves or masks, which surprised me to be honest. I'm sure a lot of people would find it excessive, I'm curious if other zoos are doing this or not?

 

[SMR]

Nope the busy summer months often sees queues getting into some houses.

I can't remember the last time I saw a long queue to get into the houses, it's not a regular occurrence by any means, and certainly not on a wet Tuesday.

I would say I’ve not heard of a full zoo before where people have been turned away because it’s full to capacity...

There were dates last summer when Chester suggested people postpone their visits for another day as the zoo was likely to be exceptionally busy. Then there are Members' Days, which are usually best avoided.

Personally I think Chester is hoping that potential visitors will expect the zoo to be quieter than usual. Combine that with the fact that people have a strange habit of snapping things up when they believe they're unusual or in short supply, which in this case applies to entry tickets, and the result is actually an increase in numbers over a similar period. Also, given how successful the results are, it wouldn't surprise me if the current system of pre-booking entry continues for as long as possible.

 

[Andrew Swales]

Also, given how successful the results are, it wouldn't surprise me if the current system of pre-booking entry continues for as long as possible.

Pre-booking is proving to be helpful when planning staff rotas, especially front of house. What we are finding is that the pre-booking is now being made quite late on. Today for example we were 2/3 booked yesterday evening, but by this morning we had sold out - presumably because the rain forecast for today had by last evening changed to just clouds.
Like you, I think pre-booking will probably remain for as long as it is tolerated - dependent of course on how each zoo has set its own visitor quota...