Zoos are one of the most visited tourist attractions worldwide - we should perceive them, therefore, not only as places where animals are kept, but also as places frequented by large numbers of people. This is why we talk of zoo tourism. However, there are different definitions of a zoo. This wide range of possible approaches to what actually the zoo is poses a major methodological problem for the research analysis as well as for the zoo management and related legislation. Zoos are historically and socially determined. We can talk not only about the evolution of zoos but also about the co-evolution of zoos alongside many types of zoos. Nowadays, there is no doubt that there is a large number of modern and naturalistic zoos oriented on conservation, but there are also many zoos designed as popular animal-based attractions where animals live in unsuitable conditions. The principal aim of this article is to introduce and discuss problematic approaches to what zoos are and to suggest a use of a wider zoo definition.
The attendance belongs to the basic quantitative indicators, which are used for assessment of the offer in the tourism. It should be used for monitoring of development, geographical structure, seasonality and from interpretational view also for monitoring of achievement or failure. This paper discusses, emphasizes and evaluates the very current topic of methodological differences in the data collection of tourist attractions attendance. The work focuses especially on the subtopic of annual passes on the example of zoos, which belong to the most visited tourist attractions worldwide and where the sale of annual cards is a typical service. Nevertheless, this article proves on the example of the zoos in German-speaking countries that the rise of attendance does not only have to show the reality. The total number of visits and the positive attendance development is in some zoos connected to the methodological approach.
Zoos are one of the most visited tourist and leisure attractions. After all the important Central-European zoos closed in the spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a few weeks later they started to re-open. The main goal of this article is to evaluate how the number of visits developed after the first zoo re-openings and what specific factors limited attendances the most after the reopening, using the example of Czech zoos in May and June 2020. In addition to the information available on zoos’ online communication channels, the authors’ questionnaire survey data and attendance data provided by the zoos were used. The results indicate that the attendance was reduced the most by the obligation to buy tickets online, by the closure of state borders, and by a low limit on daily maximum number of visitors allowed. Different approaches to restricting zoos’ capacity are discussed and the use of the maximum number of people by surface area of visitor routes at one time to limit attendance is recommended. In the future, this could be a key factor for sustainability of many zoos.
V průběhu historie lidstva se jeho vztah k přírodě a zvířatům měnil. Zoo jsou typickým sociálním konstruktem, který tento vztah vyjadřuje a reprezentuje. Tento článek se proto věnuje reflexi jejich vývoje a diskuzi současného stavu. Dlouhou dobu zoo antropocentricky působily jako symbol lidské kontroly nad přírodou. Se změnami společnosti se však měnily jejich role a podoba. Zoo 19. století k dosavadní zábavě a rekreaci přidaly výzkum a vzdělávání, což bylo ve 20. století rozšířeno o ochranu přírody. Ve vědecky řízených zoo aktuálně dochází ke klíčovému propojování těchto funkcí – v ideálním případě do ochranářského edutainmentu. Vznikají zážitkově a ekocentricky pojaté areály, v nichž mizí bariéry a návštěvníci se vnořují do prostředí společného se zvířaty. Záchrana druhu je nově dávána nad význam jedince. Aktuální stav je nicméně reflexí koevolučního vývoje, který se eklekticky zaznamenává do jejich podoby a zachycuje i mnohé z minulosti, nejen nejnovější trendy.
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