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.
Lyon Zoo being a free zoo, it probably explains the high number of visitors. Especially since it's located in a Park, and you can walk through the zoo to get from one part of the park to the other.
Now it is time for a quick breakdown per country. Again this only includes zoos with more than 100.000 visitors. The number of visits per number of inhabitants is the sum of all attendance figures for the country divided by the total number of inhabitants of the country. This is an indication of how many people visit a major zoo each year. This off-course double counts annual pass holders and zoochatters, but it compensates that many smaller zoos are not included. Note that Romania, Bulgaria and most of former Yugoslavia are excluded due to lack of data. The most zoo-loving nations in Europe are in descending order: Denmark, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Belgium. Zoos are least popular in Greece, Belarus, Ukraine & Italy. Austria Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 1 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 1 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 2 <250.000 visitors.................... 1 Total number of visitors........................ 3.442.848 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 668.570 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,39 Notable exclusions: Zoo Schmiding, Linz & Wels. Belarus Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 0 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 1 <250.000 visitors.................... 1 Total number of visitors....................... 478.449 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 239.224 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,05 Belgium Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 2 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 1 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 0 <250.000 visitors.................... 1 Total number of visitors........................ 4.439.307 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 1.109.826 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,39 Notable exclusions: Olmense Zoo, Parc Animalier de Bouillon Croatia Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 0 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 1 <250.000 visitors.................... 0 Total number of visitors........................ 403.070 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 403.070 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,10 Only data for Zoo Zagreb Cyprus Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 0 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 0 <250.000 visitors.................... 1 Total number of visitors........................ 130.000 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 130.000 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,11 Only data for Zoo Paphos Czech Republic Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 1 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 3 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 7 <250.000 visitors.................... 3 Total number of visitors........................ 5.935.219 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 423.944 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,56 Denmark Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 1 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 1 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 4 <250.000 visitors.................... 4 Total number of visitors....................... 3.867.301 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 386.730 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,69 Notable exclusions: Randers Regnskov Visitation rate is highest in Europe and even when excluding the Copenhagen metropolitan area, which attracts many tourists and visitors from Malmo, Sweden, it is still 0,55 for the rest of the country. Estonia Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 0 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 1 <250.000 visitors.................... 0 Total number of visitors....................... 406.322 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 406.322 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,31 Finland Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 0 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 1 <250.000 visitors.................... 2 Total number of visitors........................ 689.856 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 229.952 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,13 France Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 2 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 8 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 12 <250.000 visitors.................... 13 Total number of visitors........................15.388.605 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 439.674 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,23 Notable exclusions: Obterre, Cine-Aqua Paris Germany Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 10 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 12 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 17 <250.000 visitors.................... 15 Total number of visitors........................ 32.889.666 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 609.607 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,40 Notable exclusions: Ozeaneum Stralsund Greece Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 0 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 1 <250.000 visitors.................... 0 Total number of visitors........................ 318.165 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 318.165 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,03 Hungary Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 1 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 1 <250.000 visitors.................... 4 Total number of visitors........................ 2.078.864 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 415.772 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,21 Ireland Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 1 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 1 <250.000 visitors.................... 0 Total number of visitors........................ 1.483.910 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 741.955 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,31 Notable exclusions: Tayto Park Italy Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 1 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 4 <250.000 visitors.................... 2 Total number of visitors........................ 3.061.944 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 437.420 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,05 Notable exclusions: ZOOM Torino and many others Latvia Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 0 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 1 <250.000 visitors.................... 0 Total number of visitors........................ 327.983 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 327.983 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,18 Lithuania Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 0 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 0 <250.000 visitors.................... 1 Total number of visitors........................ 158.303 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 158.303 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,06 Notable exclusions: Klaipeda Aquarium Luxembourg Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 0 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 1 <250.000 visitors.................... 0 Total number of visitors........................ 265.000 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 265.000 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,44 Moldova Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 0 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 0 <250.000 visitors.................... 1 Total number of visitors........................ 227.400 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 227.400 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,06 Netherlands Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 4 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 4 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 2 <250.000 visitors.................... 2 Total number of visitors........................ 9.888.776 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 760.675 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,58 Notable exception: Dierenrijk Norway Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 1 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 0 <250.000 visitors.................... 2 Total number of visitors........................ 1.363.096 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 454.365 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,26 Poland Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 1 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 2 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 4 <250.000 visitors.................... 4 Total number of visitors........................ 5.216.634 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 474.527 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,14 Notable exclusions: Katowice Zoo Portugal Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 1 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 1 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 0 <250.000 visitors.................... 1 Total number of visitors........................ 2.197.548 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 732.516 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,21 Notable exclusions: Zoomarine Russia Includes Asian part of Russia Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 3 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 6 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 7 <250.000 visitors.................... 14 Total number of visitors........................ 14.725.877 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 475.028 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,10 Notable Zoos excluded: Vladivostok Oceanarium Slovakia Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 0 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 2 <250.000 visitors.................... 1 Total number of visitors........................ 899.177 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 299.725 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,16 Slovenia Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 0 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 1 <250.000 visitors.................... 0 Total number of visitors........................ 260.000 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 260.000 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,12 Spain Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 3 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 3 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 2 <250.000 visitors.................... 5 Total number of visitors........................ 7.743.756 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 595.673 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,16 Notable exclusions: Poema del Mar, Cabarceno, Selwo Aventura Sweden Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 1 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 1 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 2 <250.000 visitors.................... 4 Total number of visitors........................ 3.285.000 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 407.250 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,32 Notable exclusions: Universeum Gothenburg Switzerland Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 3 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 0 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 5 <250.000 visitors.................... 3 Total number of visitors........................ 5.823.348 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 429.396 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,50 (0,68 when including Bern Barenpark) Notable exclusions: Aquatis Lausanne Ukraine Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 0 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 1 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 2 <250.000 visitors.................... 2 Total number of visitors........................ 1.514.950 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 302.990 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,04 United Kingdom Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 5 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 10 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 12 <250.000 visitors.................... 18 Total number of visitors........................ 21.252.685 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 472.281 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,32 (0,26 when excluding theme parks) I was surprised at the relatively low attendance figures for the UK. Only 5 zoos top 1 million visitors, but two are theme parks and the other is an aquarium in down-town London, leaving only Chester and London Zoo as real zoos with that number. Apart from a number of Safari parks (Longleat, West Midlands, Knowsley) and Drayton Manor Theme Park, only six zoos top 500.000 visitors: Bristol, Colchester, Twycross, Edinburgh, Whipsnade and Yorkshire Wildlife Park. Of these 8 zoos which are above 500.000 visitors only Yorkshire, Chester and Whipsnade have seen strong increases in attendance over the past 10 years, with London and Bristol stable to slight losses, whereas Edinburgh has seen attendance drop by 21% when comparing 2018 to the 10 year average. When looking at the 20 zoos that have reliably updated their attendance figures in the IZY, there is on average a slight increase in visitor numbers though. When comparing with the zoo nations on the continent, visitor numbers for the UK are still very low. Visiting zoos is both a cultural and an economical thing, with poorer countries having lower attendance and in general NW and C Europe have higher zoo visitation rates (Czech Republic, Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Belgium & Austria seem to be the most zoo going countries, in the US this is 0.56 for AZA zoos). The UK is however relatively rich (though with high inequality) and is located on the right side of the continent and the other countries with a Germanic language score very high. The two main reasons I can think of are: 1: Location, most UK zoos are located in the middle of nowhere and can hardly be reached by public transport. Additionally many large cities like Leeds, Birmingham, Glasgow, Sheffield, Newcastle and many others do not have a major zoo within the city or very nearby. Even Chester Zoo is quite a distance from both Manchester and Liverpool. Compare this to Germany where only 2 of the 20 largest cities do not have a major zoo very close (Bielefeld & Bremen, but each has major zoos within an 80 km radius). In the Czech republic all of the 6 cities with more than 100.000 inhabitants have a major zoo. 2: A feedback loop where it is very hard for zoos to make major investments that would reliably draw larger crowds, which means that unless they get to a certain size or have financial backing they cannot expand sustainably. Compared with especially zoos in Central Europe and also the US this makes a big difference. Here there is a positive feedback loop between zoos, (local) governments and the people: most zoos get some sort of subsidy from the city and enjoy high support and visitation rates from the people and thereby they have the power to keep on expanding and build great new enclosures, which ensures that both people and governments feel proud of their local zoo and remain committed. When looking at UK zoos this can explain quite a lot of the lack of major investments and with the exception of Chester, zoo construction is very modest. Chester, Whipsnade and Yorkshire are three UK zoos that have seen their attendance increase by over 30% when comparing 2018 to the 10 year average (zoos like Blackpool and Dudley attendance increased with approx. 25%). So it is possible to grow in the UK and it shows that there is an incredibly high potential for UK zoos, but currently it is very hard to realize, more so than on the continent.
Fascinating stuff! Mostly fairly expected from experience and coverage on here. The three big increases are an interesting trio. Whipsnade's attendance is perhaps over-performing its nerd-rating, though I have to say it was very busy last week (and didn't feel noticeably under-stocked, even to a nerd, despite a few departures). I'm pleased it is though, because it's still one of the most pleasant and distinctive UK zoos to visit. Chester of course hit 2 million in 2019, so it will be interesting to see where they go from here. They're in the double-edged sword position of being the undisputed 'gold standard' of British zoos at the moment, which comes with perks and pride but also expectations and obligations. The founding of Yorkshire WP hit a perfect sweet spot of geography, topography, staff experience, species choice, simple yet tasteful design and frankly astoundingly clever publicity that hasn't been matched by a new zoo in the UK in decades. While it doesn't yet have the species numbers of the rest of that group of eight, and is very mammal-y, it has that unmistakeable 'glow' of success that gives a place energy and confidence, and they have it to a level probably unmatched by any UK zoo other than Chester. And they have a massive expansion lined up for the coming years, with the first stage already populated and probably opening in mere months. One to watch.
Very interesting numbers, thanks for bringing these to the attention of ZooChat. Interestingly, when I first saw the numbers I thought they seemed a little low, with just under 3 million for the highest entry. But then I realised I was comparing these to my own field, museums, so I looked up the most recent figures I could find, which were for 2018. Most visited museums in Europe 2018 | Statista For museums, the highest visitor figure was the Louvre, with over 10 million visitors on 2018. Even looking at the top 20, none received less than 2 million visitors. We once calculated that, for the museum I worked at, to reach the number of visitors it received annually would require on average nearly 700 brand new visitors every hour across the entire year, for a museum open 24-7. Taking into account actual opening hours, this would of course be even higher. This resulted in a very busy museum at the best of times, and this in an enclosed building. Zoos very often feel very crowded as it is, and these are generally very large and open air (houses aside), compared to the enclosed spaces of a museum. There are differences between museums and zoos, such as visitor demographics (a lot of people who visit museums/galleries might not be interested in visiting zoos (natural history nerds notwithstanding!)), differences in pricing (or lack of; for example, no UK national museum charges entry for general admittance, although all will charge for special exhibitions, whereas the Louvre charges €17 just to get in the front door), location (city-centre tourist hubs), associated costs (Cultural heritage might not need feeding, but it still requires a lot of expensive upkeep), opening times, visit length, tarry time etc. Just interesting differences to note
Russia Number of zoos with: > 1.000.000 visitors................ 3 500.000 - 1.000.000 visitors... 6 250.000 - 500.000 visitors...... 7 <250.000 visitors.................... 14 Total number of visitors........................ 14.725.877 Average number of visitors per zoo..... 475.028 Visits per number of inhabitants........... 0,10 Notable Zoos excluded: Vladivostok Oceanarium Apart from the Moscow Zoo and the Oceanarium only the Novosibirsk Zoo reached more than 1 million visitors (1.512.544, almost half free entry), but as Novosibirsk is in the Asian part of Russia, it was not listed above.
This is down to tradition and cultural support. The large zoos in CZ and DE were built by the state as a cultural resource for their cities, either post war or during Communist control of the people. Public support was channeled during these early years and the tradition was established. This did not happen in the UK. UK theme parks and parks such as many in France, Longleat and Paradisio are 'in the middle of no-where' and the car park of the latter was very full the last time I visited! This area is important. Those UK Zoos listed (especially examples such as Chester and Yorkshire) have managed to cultivate positive relationships with local government. This is abnormal in the UK, where ambivalence is the very best that can be expected, and out-right opposition and discrimination is much more normal - most zoos get some sort of subsidy from the city Zoos are heavily taxed in the UK, not subsidised. The UK is uniquely negative in this area. I have repeatedly detailed the tax regimes which prevent most UK zoos from entering this fabled 'feedback loop'. It has to be, but often this results in very efficient use of resources - comparatively, at least Thank you ed
Weather could also potentially create significant differences in the discrepancy; zoos in temperate climates typically have much lower attendance in colder months or during inclement weather conditions, while I'd think indoor museums aren't nearly as affected.
There were only about 20 zoos with 100.000+ visitors that have reliably reported their visitor numbers over the past 10 years in the UK. For example Marwell has seen a huge reduction, but the data reported are hardly updated between the years.
I am surprised that only 20 fall into the >100,000 category. It may be that replies to IZYB are far from complete. One other point not touched on above when comparing the UK to DE/CZ is the huge number of open farms in the UK. I don't know if these exist in the same numbers in other countries? They certainly reduce zoo attendances, and compete aggressively for the casual visitor on an unequal basis, as they have enormous tax, running cost and legislative advantages
That's a very good point! All the museums I've worked at became very crowded in poor weather. You can reliably tell what the weather is doing outside by how many visitors there are inside. The casual tourist, both domestic and international, would probably rather spend a cold, wet day inside a museum than outside at a zoo.
That is the case, there is a very large number of zoos that only gives an attendance update every 5 years or so, which makes creating a 10 year average quite useless. That is most certainly something we don't have on the continent, the only place I have seen them is New Zealand. Actually many zoos were founded already in the 20ies and 30ies. Specific for Germany was the founding of many "heimattierparks" a Nazi idea to show the native animals, which after the war often developed into full zoos. I think the point still stands that zoos in densely populated areas have generally more visitors. Exceptions like Pairi Daiza and Beauval show that it is possible to attract visitors in the middle of nowhere, but you need to offer a unique experience + market effectively, which both certainly do. The reason behind why no zoos were founded in the UK might indeed well be partly political, but it would be interesting what were other cultural and traditional reasons why this did not happen much in the UK, but happened all over the place in the Netherlands, Czechia, Denmark and the German speaking countries. It is noteworthy that for example all major Swiss zoos are in the German speaking part, with only smaller collection in the French speaking part, so there might well be cultural differences underlying this.
This then partially explains why zoos in the UK have fewer visitors. There are very few German or Czech sized zoos in densely populated areas. Zoos were not generally built by the state or the city. Almost all were/are privately or then society owned, and many of our medium sized zoos, Marwell, Cricket, Kilverstone, Howletts, Cotswold, Highland are part of country estates, as many in France are. Middle-of-nowhere, perhaps not; but certainly not densely populated.
Am I right in thinking that the largest/busiest zoos in France itself are in the west of the country, in areas benefiting from a steady stream of northern European tourists heading south?
To really test it I would need to do a simple spatial analysis and check how many people live within X number of kilometers from each zoo and compare that with attendance. I am sure the necessary datasets are available for free, but it would take some time to build a layer with all zoo coordinates. I might do it when I am bored one afternoon.
Great fun! If you were really bored, you could overlay it with all the other variable parameters - car ownership, road networks, population affluence, number of competing open farms in the area etc etc
Interesting information. The Zoo Aquarium Association here which covers both Australia and New Zealand claims 22 million visits to members per annum. With a combined population of 30 million this suggests a remarkable .73 visits per person per annum. Perhaps one thing that can be said is that all the large conventional zoos that have been around for more than 50 years are government run or supported. Overall zoos don't do well in the tourism market because they tend not to have a unique selling point that makes visitors feel they have to visit while on tour. Museums typically have objects that can only be seen in that museum, the ultimate example being the Mona Lisa. People think they can see lions and tigers back in their home zoos. The only example I can think of a zoo with a single species with broad public appeal is in the '60's when London Zoo was the only place you could see a giant panda. San Diego has established a brand as the "best zoo in the world" and attracts visitors from all over as does Australia Zoo, trading on the Steve Irwin legacy. Burgers Zoo found after they built their tropical hall with restaurant that they attracted visitors from a much wider area than before (ie out into Germany and France) and in significant numbers in winter as well.
I'm not so sure... Chi-Chi and the others certainly 'did it' for London. But, when I was a child I remember 'Pipaluk' and there was 'Brumas' before him. Both were heavily promoted in a pre-internet world, with TV, mechandising, the works... and produced huge numbers of visitors (equally as many as the Pandas) despite the fact that Polar Bears were found in every second zoo in Europe, zoos big and small. You are quite right with regard to Burger's Bush. I visited Arnhem regularly over that period, and the visitor number 'jump' for a zoo which moved from old Hagenbeck concrete to their covered jungle, was astounding. People drove to Arnhem from all over The Netherlands and much of Germany too, despite all their home towns cities having their own (large) zoos.
Wonderful things tend to happen when you get bored. Here’s wishing you many terribly dull afternoons to come.