Weather sensitivity for zoo visitation in Toronto, Canada: a quantitative analysis of historical data

Abstract

Based on a case study of the Toronto Zoo (Canada), multivariate regression analysis, involving both climatic and social variables, was employed to assess the relationship between daily weather and visitation. Zoo visitation was most sensitive to weather variability during the shoulder season, followed by the off-season and, then, the peak season. Temperature was the most influential weather variable in relation to zoo visitation, followed by precipitation and, then, wind speed. The intensity and direction of the social and climatic variables varied between seasons. Temperatures exceeding 26 °C during the shoulder season and 28 °C during the peak season suggested a behavioural threshold associated with zoo visitation, with conditions becoming too warm for certain segments of the zoo visitor market, causing visitor numbers to decline. Even light amounts of precipitation caused average visitor numbers to decline by nearly 50 %. Increasing wind speeds also demonstrated a negative influence on zoo visitation.

The Effect of Seasonal Climatic Anomalies on Zoo Visitation in Toronto (Canada) and the Implications for Projected Climate Change

“…During the shoulder season, temperatures exceeding 26˝C were indicative of a critical temperature threshold, causing attendance levels to decline. In the peak season, visitors were more tolerable of extreme heat and attendance levels did not decline until temperatures exceeded 29˝C [12]. For precipitation, average daily attendance levels declined by approximately 50% when only trace amounts of precipitation was recorded on a given day (0.2 to 2.0 mm).…”

“…Nonetheless, the relationship between weather with recreation and tourism is poorly understood and under-researched [6][7][8]. More specifically, very little is known about the specific weather sensitivity of particular tourism attractions within urban areas [9][10][11][12].…”

“…Recently, there has been a number of studies aimed at assessing the weather sensitivity of zoo visitation [9,[11][12][13]. However, no study to of the year and the pattern of school and bank holidays.…”

“…Hewer and Gough [12] used 15 years of daily weather and attendance data to create predictive regression models in an effort to determine the seasonal weather sensitivity of visitation to a zoological park in Toronto, Canada. The results suggested that shoulder season months (spring and fall) were most weather sensitive, followed by off-season months (winter) and then peak-season months (summer).…”

Primera aproximación a las preferencias climáticas para la práctica del senderismo en España

“…Así, excluyendo al turismo de sol y playa y las aproximaciones generales, sólo se encuentran investigaciones concretas, por ejemplo, para: la práctica del sky (Shih, et al, 2009;Tang y Jang, 2012;Falk, 2015); el golf (Scott y Jones, 2006;; el turismo urbano Dubois et al, 2009, Matzarakis y Endler, 2009Rutty y Scott 2010;Scott et al, 2016); o la visita a zoológicos (Aylen y Kevin-Albertson, 2014;Hewer y Gough, 2016). Para el caso del turismo de montaña, y fuera de España, hemos encontrado los trabajos de afiliación general de George (1993), Dubois et al (2009, Jänicke, Abegg y Steiger (2015) y Dubois et al (2016).…”