Toronto Zoo trying to innovate as it faces budget crunch

Caroline Fernandez and her three kids loved visiting the Toronto Zoo every Sunday throughout the summer last year. But because of the coronavirus pandemic, that didn’t seem possible in 2020.

However, after closing for two months, the zoo reopened Saturday – though only as a drive-through exhibit.

So Ms. Fernandez placed herself in a members-only online queue to purchase tickets to the zoo’s new car-oriented Scenic Safari. Guests are guided in their vehicles through a 3.4-kilometre route that takes approximately 45 minutes to an hour.

“The kids can’t go to playgrounds, they can’t see their friends, they’re all getting tired of being together, but at least doing the zoo drive-through, we’re all doing something together,” said Ms. Fernandez, who runs a parenting blog.

The Toronto Zoo has been forced to create new options for the public in order to keep business going during COVID-19, on top of financial struggles that had already begun before it temporarily closed on March 14.

Dolf DeJong, chief executive of the Toronto Zoo, said challenges such as the COVID-19-related closing help them look back at their business model to find new ways to connect with people.

“We need to do a far better job of deepening people's relationship to have those conservation impacts and those relationship-building moments to ensure a better future for nature,” Mr. DeJong said.

Attendance at the zoo in the past few years has been relatively low compared with 2013, when 1.46 million visitors attended. Last year, the facility brought in 1.295 million visitors.

Total revenues in 2018 were at $28.2-million, 17 per cent below budget. While revenues in 2019 increased to $30.8-million, they were still 11 per cent below budget.

Angèle Beausoleil, an assistant professor in business design and innovation at the Rotman School of Management, said a triggering event such as the pandemic can give businesses the opportunity to look at where they’re most or least profitable.

“Innovation as a process needs to be more ingrained in organizations,” she said. “We’re not taught how to face uncertainty or how to navigate it – we learn on the job.”

Dr. Beausoleil said the drive-through experience may create a new way of experiencing the zoo for those with mobility issues who couldn’t access the park in the past.

Other zoos are also being forced to adapt to changing circumstances.

The Calgary Zoo, which reopened the same day as the one in Toronto, has also made visitors abide by physical-distancing rules. People are required to purchase timed tickets in advance to help limit the number of people in the park at a given time. Visitors are also only allowed at outdoor exhibits and are guided on a one-way path.

The Calgary Zoo also said it will send its two giant pandas back to China. Fewer flights between China and Canada because of the pandemic have seen a decrease in bamboo supply, which makes up 99 per cent of a panda’s diet. The pandas were expected to stay at the Calgary Zoo until 2024.

Edmonton Valley Zoo plans to reopen on June 15 with some restrictions. Tickets will be sold online, and capacity will be restricted to 50 per cent with controlled entry of 90 tickets per half hour.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Toronto Zoo was already working on ways to bring in more visitors.

Last winter, the zoo had an evening light show called Terra Lumina that took guests on an immersive walk through a 1.5-kilometre path through the zoo. It was described by Mr. DeJong as “imagining a future where we made the changes to protect wild animals and wild places.”

The zoo has also utilized social media to further connect with people during the lockdown.

It has played host to daily Facebook Live events that showcase their animals through demonstrations or training sessions by their staff.