Good point and higher prices seem a reasonable/fair strategy when numbers are steady or rising. However I sometimes get the suspicion that some places try to keep income constant by increasing prices steeply to compensate for falling visitor numbers, a reasonable short-term strategy perhaps but a little dangerous as it has potential to alienate and put off visitors in the longer term (resulting in less overall income regardless of high prices).
Top 30 European Zoos: Attendance
- Thread starter snowleopard
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Good point and higher prices seem a reasonable/fair strategy when numbers are steady or rising. However I sometimes get the suspicion that some places try to keep income constant by increasing prices steeply to compensate for falling visitor numbers, a reasonable short-term strategy perhaps but a little dangerous as it has potential to alienate and put off visitors in the longer term (resulting in less overall income regardless of high prices).
The new Anthony Sheridan book is close to 500 pages of information on 115+ European zoos and the attendance figures have naturally changed since I began this thread almost 3 years ago. Of note is that in the new book Sheridan has a detailed chapter all about the "Top 3" zoos on the continent (Vienna, Leipzig and Zurich) and then "Two Rising Stars" in the shape of Beauval and Pairi Daiza. The recent attendance figures for those two zoos are nothing short of astonishing!
Beauval (France)
2010 - 585,000
2011 - 650,000
2012 - 1,025,000
2013 - 975,000
2014 - 975,000
2015 - 1,100,000
Pairi Daiza (Belgium)
2010 - 735,000
2011 - 840,000
2012 - 1,000,000
2013 - 1,300,000
2014 - 1,460,000
2015 - 1,860,000
How do zoos cope with such explosive popularity? Has there been massive construction for pathways, washrooms, restaurants, cafes, gift shops, etc.?
Also of note is that Wroclaw (Poland) had almost 2 million visitors in 2015, making this once relatively low-key facility one of the most popular zoos in Europe. The Afrykarium has boosted the zoo's attendance into the stratosphere.
Beauval (France)
2010 - 585,000
2011 - 650,000
2012 - 1,025,000
2013 - 975,000
2014 - 975,000
2015 - 1,100,000
Pairi Daiza (Belgium)
2010 - 735,000
2011 - 840,000
2012 - 1,000,000
2013 - 1,300,000
2014 - 1,460,000
2015 - 1,860,000
How do zoos cope with such explosive popularity? Has there been massive construction for pathways, washrooms, restaurants, cafes, gift shops, etc.?
Also of note is that Wroclaw (Poland) had almost 2 million visitors in 2015, making this once relatively low-key facility one of the most popular zoos in Europe. The Afrykarium has boosted the zoo's attendance into the stratosphere.
I have been in Wroclaw and Pairi Daiza and both seems quite packed on busy days. In Wroclaw I have seen long queues for the Afrykarium and in Pairi Daiza it is not much fun to visit it together with 25.000 other people. So even though both zoos seem to manage it does has impact on the visitor experience.
Not yet mentioned: how would either of the Paris zoos rank on here? I'd be surprised if the JdP does not receive 1 million+ visitors a year, and Vincennes surely gets its fair share also.
Attendance in Russian zoos :
Moscow 2.565.000 (I think they counted only paying visitors)
Novosibirsk 890.912 + 695.269 non-paying
St. Petersburg 762.508
Yekaterinburg 716.000 (they say it is the most crowded zoo in the world because its area is 2,7 ha only)
Krasnoyarsk 711.401
St. Petersburg Oceanarium 600.00
Izhevsk 576.758
So it’s only seven zoos with more than half million visitors in Russia. For comparison most visited zoos in other former soviet cities:
Ukraine - Kyiv 576.233
Belarus - Minsk 810.243
Caucasus - Yerevan 296.000
Central Asia - Almaty 472.076
Tashkent 282.400
Moscow 2.565.000 (I think they counted only paying visitors)
Novosibirsk 890.912 + 695.269 non-paying
St. Petersburg 762.508
Yekaterinburg 716.000 (they say it is the most crowded zoo in the world because its area is 2,7 ha only)
Krasnoyarsk 711.401
St. Petersburg Oceanarium 600.00
Izhevsk 576.758
So it’s only seven zoos with more than half million visitors in Russia. For comparison most visited zoos in other former soviet cities:
Ukraine - Kyiv 576.233
Belarus - Minsk 810.243
Caucasus - Yerevan 296.000
Central Asia - Almaty 472.076
Tashkent 282.400