Attendance and Perceived Constraints to Attendance at Zoological Gardens during the Spring 2020 COVID-19 Re-Opening: The Czechia Case
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area
2.2. Data Collection
2.2.1. Attendance Constraints—Website Analysis and Questionnaire
- the closure of borders
- the limited daily number of visitors
- the visitor obligation to buy a ticket online
- the obligation by the zoo to keep the animal houses and walk-through exhibits closed
- the impossibility of the zoo to offer a full gastronomical experience
- the zoo’s cancelation of events for the public
- the visitor obligation to wear a mask
- Provide at least an estimate of the share of foreign visits to the zoo last year (Q1)
- Provide the maximum attendance allowed at the zoo based on government restrictions (Q2)
- State from which values of the area size the number of maximum attendance allowed in the zoo was calculated (e.g., total vs. exhibit area) (Q3)
- State whether you consider the given setting of the maximum attendance allowed to be satisfactory? (Q4)
- State whether you consider the requirement to purchase tickets exclusively online to be justified? (Q5)
2.2.2. Attendance Numbers
3. Results
3.1. Factors Affecting Attendance after the Re-Opening
“It is not possible to fulfil one of the basic functions of a zoological garden—direct teaching of students. As long as schools are closed, or they operate in a restricted mode, it is not possible (in line with the Ministry of Education guidelines) for students to visit our zoo for educational programmes”.
Restriction of the Zoo Capacity
3.2. Attendance: The Demand of Visitors to Visit in the Restricted Mode
4. Discussion
4.1. Limited Capacity and Size
4.2. Other Zoo Attendance Factors
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Perceived Factors | The Importance of Factors (Max = 5, Min = 1) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 (Max. Importance) | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 (Min. Importance) | Not Applicable | “I Do Not Know” | Average Score | |
Visitor obligation to buy a ticket online | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 |
Obligation by the zoo to keep the indoor viewing (houses) and walk-through exhibits closed | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.0 |
Impossibility of the zoo to offer a full gastronomical experience (closed restaurants) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.9 |
Limited daily number of visitors | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3.4 |
Closure of borders | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.4 |
Zoo cancelation of events for the public | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.4 |
Visitor obligation to wear a mask | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.9 |
Size of the zoo | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2.8 |
Zoological Garden | Size (ha) [60] | Exhibit Size (ha) [60] (ES) | Size According to the Limited Capacity (ha) | Limited Capacity of Czech Zoos According to the Government Regulations (LDC) | Average Daily Visitation May 2017–2019 (ADV) | Visitor Load Coefficient (ADV/ES) | Limitation Coefficient I (ADV/LDC) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zoo Ostrava | 100 | 60 | 100 | 15,000 | 2265 | 37.75 | 0.15 |
Zoo Ústí | 26 | 25 | 26 | 3900 | 685 | 27.39 | 0.18 |
Zoo Olomouc | 43 | 23 | 42.5 | 6375 | 1339 | 58.24 | 0.21 |
Zoo Brno | 41.3 | 25 | 36.67 | 5500 | 1270 | 50.81 | 0.23 |
Zoo Děčín | 6 | 5 | 6 | 900 | 336 | 67.15 | 0.37 |
Zoo Dvůr Králové | 78.8 | 53 * | 30 | 4500 | 1798 | 33.92 | 0.40 |
Zoo Vyškov | 9 | 4+4 | 9 | 1350 | 701 | 87.58 | 0.52 |
Zoo Liberec | 14 | 12 | 13 | 1950 | 1154 | 96.13 | 0.59 |
Zoo Plzeň | 47 | 21 | 21 | 2850 | 1752 | 83.43 | 0.61 |
Zoo Praha | 58 | 50 | 56.7 | 8500 | 5281 | 105.62 | 0.62 |
Zoo Hodonín | 5.7 | 4.2 | 6 | 900 | 740 | 176.26 | 0.82 |
Zoo Jihlava | 8.9 | 8.3 | 10 | 1500 | 1347 | 162.29 | 0.90 |
Zoo Hluboká | 6 | 4.8 | 6 | 900 | 813 | 169.38 | 0.90 |
Zoological Garden | Exhibit Size (ha) | Annual Attendance 2019 [60] /ha/day | Facility Capacity, May 2020 (LDC) | May 2019: Average Weekend and Public Holidays Visitation (ADWHV) | Limitation Coefficient II (ADWHV/LDC) | May 2019: Number of Days over the Limitation 2020 | May 2019: Attendance over the Limitation 2020 | May 2019: Share of the Attendance over the Limitation 2020 | Est. % of Foreign Visitors | May 2020/19 Attendance Change |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zoo Ústí | 25 | 18 | 3900 | 1028 | 0.26 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 1% | +31.7% |
Zoo Ostrava | 60 | 26 | 15,000 | 4563 | 0.30 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 40% | −42.9% |
Zoo Dvůr Králové | 53/30 | 49 | 4500 | 2479 | 0.55 | 0 | 0 | 0% | - | −46.9% |
Zoo Děčín | 5 | 60 | 900 | 663 | 0.74 | 3 | 706 | 7.0% | 20% | −9.8% |
Zoo Liberec | 15 | 92 | 1950 | 1481 | 0.76 | 3 | 1573 | 5.3% | 30% | −37.6% |
Zoo Vyškov | 8 | 69 | 1350 | 1218 | 0.90 | 6 | 2799 | 14.7% | 10% | −23.6% |
Zoo Jihlava | 8.3 | 114 | 1500 | 1812 | 1.21 | 7 | 6264 | 18.4% | - | −37.0% |
Zoo Hluboká | 4.8 | 160 | 900 | 1254 | 1.39 | 7 | 5163 | 23.1% | - | −53.8% |
Zoo Hodonín | 4.2 | 127 | 900 | 1385 | 1.54 | 7 | 6558 | 31.6% | 41% | −40.9% |
Zoo | Area Size (ha) | Limit 1 Person per 20 m2 of Visitor Area | Limit 1 Person per 10 m2 of Visitor Area | Limit 150 People/ha (Czech Model) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tierpark Bischofswerda | 0.75 | 142 at one time * | 284 at one time | 112 per day |
Tierpark Bochum | 1.9 | 300 at one time | 600 at one time * | 285 per day |
Zoo Krefeld | 14 | 650 at one time | 1300 at one time * | 2100 per day |
Opel-Zoo Kronberg | 27 | 1000 at one time * | 2000 at one time | 4500 per day |
Tiergarten Nürnberg | 65 | 3250 at one time * | 6500 at one time | 9750 per day |
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Nekolný, L.; Fialová, D. Attendance and Perceived Constraints to Attendance at Zoological Gardens during the Spring 2020 COVID-19 Re-Opening: The Czechia Case. J. Zool. Bot. Gard. 2021, 2, 234-249. https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg2020016
Nekolný L, Fialová D. Attendance and Perceived Constraints to Attendance at Zoological Gardens during the Spring 2020 COVID-19 Re-Opening: The Czechia Case. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens. 2021; 2(2):234-249. https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg2020016
Chicago/Turabian StyleNekolný, Lukáš, and Dana Fialová. 2021. "Attendance and Perceived Constraints to Attendance at Zoological Gardens during the Spring 2020 COVID-19 Re-Opening: The Czechia Case" Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 2, no. 2: 234-249. https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg2020016