I'm wondering how zoos are going after "Freedom Day"? Are visitor numbers up or down? Do people abide by social distancing or continue practices such as wearing masks? If you have visited do you feel safe? What do zoo managements think?
In response to the first part of the question, I would argue it’s too early to say. Regarding social distancing and mask wearing, that pretty much got disregarded by the majority of people I witnessed from the start!
I visited Dudley Zoo a couple of weeks ago. It was much busier than I expected it to be although I think the schools may still have been on holiday. Masks were required in certain areas and this seemed to be adhered to. People were generally respectful of other people's space and weren't crowding each other. I felt safe and it was wonderful to just be out and doing something 'normal' again.
I had to Google what "Freedom Day" is. So it's like "Just Give Up Day"? It's like if Churchill had made a Freedom Day and everyone said "But you just surrendered!" and he repeats firmly "Freedom Day!".
Rather unfair This unofficial name came from legal restrictions being changed to voluntary advice. But the restrictions on foreign travel have resulted in UK zoos being exceptionally busy during the school holidays this summer, although many still require visits to be booked in advance. In consequence the number of Covid cases is currently higher than it was a year ago, in spite of the vaccination programme, and the government warned yesterday that restrctions may need to be reintroduced this autumn.
It was originally mooted as 'Freedom Day' because there was a timetable of gradual lifting of restrictions culminating in a date when all would be lifted etc. giving cause for a national celebration. In the end it was a damp squib as it had both been delayed a month and still ended up being done in the face of increasing cases of the virus. The general feeling by the government etc seemed to be, 'if not now, when..' so they went ahead despite the statistics, but still warning the public to take responsibility etc.
Paignton's local newspaper, the Herald Express, has asked some of the key figures in the local tourism industry how the summer season went. The zoo's marketing manager says the zoo had a great summer and has been really busy - "Our visitor numbers have increased on the summer of 2019, meaning we are 29% up on footfall and 49% up on trading figures for the main six weeks of the summer holiday." They did however struggle with staffing and supply issues. On a personal level as a (grumpy) visitor, I couldn't wait for it to end. It seemed that holiday makers left their social distancing etiquette at home, so if you moved away from people, others thought you were making a gap for them to stand in. And if you stopped to take photos where nobody else was about, you'd soon be surrounded by those wondering what you were looking at. It's a lot quieter now but September is part of the area's holiday season, so this is still happening to some extent.
