Rainy days result in zoo revenue falling $1m short
Rainy days have hurt Auckland Zoo’s bottom line.
Auckland Zoo brought in $11.3 million for the year to June, $1 million less than what was forecast, because 135 rainy days impacted on visitor numbers.
While this was only 31 more rainy days than average, of those wet days, 65 were during peak visitor times, including school holidays, public holidays or weekends.
Auckland Zoo is a not-for-profit organisation, which receives a 14 per cent annual subsidy from Auckland Council for operating costs but otherwise relies on the support of visitors, partners and sponsors.
An adult ticket to the zoo costs $28, a child aged between 4 and 14 costs $12, and a family pass for two adults and two children is $72.
Auckland Zoo head of marketing and communications Jooles Clements said it understood why numbers dropped.
‘‘Although we encourage our visitors to come in and experience the zoo, rain or shine, we understand the reluctance to visit when
‘‘We understand the reluctance to visit when it is raining.’’ Jooles Clements.
it is raining,’’ Clements said.
Admission fees made up a ‘‘significant portion’’ of the loss but the zoo’s retail and hospitality were also negatively affected by fewer visitors, he said.
Even with fewer visitors it was still happy with 683,000 visitors for the year, which was fewer than the previous year’s 703,000 visitors but almost 40,000 more than in 2015, he said.
Auckland Zoo only cancelled school trips if the weather presented a hazard to visitors, but it was up to each individual school on whether they wanted to brave the rain, he said.
Auckland Zoo planned to create three times as much covered space for visitors over the next 10 years, Clements said.
’’We believe that our future plans for more cover and covered experiences will help lessen the impact that rain days currently have on people’s decisions to visit us,’’ he said.
It is also in the process of developing a temporary enclosed exhibition space, which will open in December, hosting Te Papa and Weta Workshop’s exhibition Bug Lab.
Metservice meteorologist Claire Flynn said Auckland received nearly 1.1 litres of rain between January and the end of September, compared to a 10 year average of 805ml.
Auckland Zoo forecasts making more than $16 million in 2018.