Zoological parks
As of 1997, ABS data states that there were 53 zoological gardens in Australia. These zoos admitted almost 8 million paying customers who generated close to $65 million (or 49% of total income), representing $29,700 per person employed (of which there are nearly 2,000). The largest contributor to the 'average' zoo income is the paying customer. Many, if not all zoo staff, are aware of the need to retain public support from the paying customer and the supportive taxpayer. How to do this without losing focus on the core businesses of conservation and education is an ongoing challenge.
Starting from late 2002, CERM PI has undertaken visitor service quality surveying at the Adelaide Zoo and Monarto Zoological Park for both adults and children, aimed at providing quality information for stakeholders to incorporate into decision making strategies.
More recently, negotiation has taken place with other major Australasian Zoological sites with a view to expanding the project to national benchmarking capacities.
These projects are in line with the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between CERM PI and the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia.
For further information contact us.