Zoo financially up the creek

[Wayno]

i like how you think Rev. Collaborate & conquer. That package would certainly be a full day tour!

[ghs]

They'd have better odds if they put all their money on 00 in roulette.

They are planning to use artificial insemination.

[Maximus]

Very sad news... Warrawong is to close:

Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary at Mylor faces extinction
Science Reporter Clare Peddie
adelaidenow
February 05, 2013 10:01AM

MYLOR'S beloved Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary will close, robbing school students and adults alike of a chance to get close to nature.

Zoos South Australia has announced that the sanctuary will be closed, staff redeployed and animals moved to Adelaide and Monarto zoos, because building a bushfire refuge would cost too much.

The decision is a major blow to schools as they attempt to give students an understanding and appreciation of conservation.

Zoos South Australia chief executive Elaine Bensted said the Adelaide Hills Council was concerned about onsite accommodation being used during the Fire Danger Season.

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[Maximus]

Why not tours of/to various sites?

Looks like you might have been on to something. But they're thinking State-wide, not just Adelaide. This sounds promising.

Zoos SA to join tourism campaign pushing South Australia's wonders
by:Environment reporter Katrina Stokes
From:The Advertiser
May 15, 201311:30PM

ZOOS SA wants to join forces with tourism operators from the Fleurieu Peninsula and the River Murray in a new campaign aimed at luring tens of thousands of interstate and international visitors.

In an interview with The Advertiser, Zoos SA chief executive Elaine Bensted has outlined a vision to offer package deals combining Monarto Zoo and Adelaide Zoo with iconic South Australian tourism destinations as part of her bid to boost admission numbers at both sites.

Ms Bensted has revealed she will meet with SA Tourism Commission chief executive Rodney Harrex in July to seek support for her vision to embrace several tourism experiences in the state.

"If we want to attract interstate tourists to (Monarto) we need to work with other people in the region to sell a package of reasons to come ... because it's hard to promote just one place," she said.

"If you're from Victoria or New South Wales, to spend a day doing the beautiful wineries around the Fleurieu, then a day at Monarto with a really nice dinner somewhere and then a day out on the River Murray - it's a really nice package."

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[Vee]

I would like to see improved "tourism poster style signage" to Monarto, giving better indication of its open range zoo credentials, from the SE Freeway. This would raise awareness of the attraction and its location to visitors, who may decide to make a special trip during their stay or return journey.

Package deals sound like a good idea with mix and match options and transport, transfers organized. Distance from the city is a factor for visitors without a car and proximity to the many and varied attractions in the Adelaide Hills is a plus. Cooperative marketing is the way to go.

Many facilities, attractions and events now promote themselves as potential gifts for friends, relatives by way of vouchers/gift cards. These can be advertised on the web, via social media etc with special campaigns to coincide with Christmas, Mother's/Father's Day etc.
An example is the Fringe vouchers (of different values) that are advertised in the months leading up to Christmas. Experiential gifts appear to be gaining in popularity over physical gifts that sometimes end up on eBay!

Monarto is an ideal site for the safari style zoo and it has got better each time I have visited.

[Norman]

Advertising is DEFINITELY something our attractions in general can improve on, people think nothing happens here because nothing is being advertised and if it is, it is done poorly. Why can't we have things like Monarto and Kangaroo island appear on major billboards in major cities like Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane?

[Nathan]

Advertising is DEFINITELY something our attractions in general can improve on, people think nothing happens here because nothing is being advertised and if it is, it is done poorly. Why can't we have things like Monarto and Kangaroo island appear on major billboards in major cities like Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane?

Kangaroo Island gets well flogged interstate in both television advertising and billboards.

[Norman]

Advertising is DEFINITELY something our attractions in general can improve on, people think nothing happens here because nothing is being advertised and if it is, it is done poorly. Why can't we have things like Monarto and Kangaroo island appear on major billboards in major cities like Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane?

Kangaroo Island gets well flogged interstate in both television advertising and billboards.

Fair enough, I've never seen them though when I visited those places.

[Maximus]

I don't know whether it's been a deliberate attempt to boost its profile, or just luck/coincidence, but I've noticed Monarto Zoo starting to get a lot more media attention lately. The zoo has enjoyed lengthy features recently on Bondi Vet, Better Homes & Gardens and now, with the below news, on national news bulletins. Positive happenings on all accounts, I'd say.

New cubs make Monarto Zoo's lion pride the largest in Australia
by: Environment Reporter Katrina Stokes
From: The Advertiser July 08, 2013 9:03AM

MONARTO Zoo has welcomed two more lion cubs to its ever-growing brood - making its pride Australia's largest.

Zoos SA announced this morning that the yet-to-be-named cubs - a male and female - had been born on June 18 to mum Kiamba.

They join three other cubs born on April 24 .

Senior carnivore keeper Claire Geister said the zoo had been "thrilled'' to welcome the two cubs to the Monarto Zoo family last month.

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[Maximus]

What a nice story with which to start my morning...

They’re smiling again at Adelaide Zoo as organisation fights back from the financial precipice and visitors flock to Monarto
CAMERON ENGLAND | Sunday Mail (SA)
July 19, 2014 9:30PM

ZOOS SA has turned around its fortunes and broken attendance records at Monarto Zoo, less than two years after the organisation teetered on the brink of financial ruin.

Chief executive Elaine Bensted, who was brought in to manage the charity in mid-2012, said management’s attendance targets for both the Adelaide and Monarto zoos were beaten in the past financial year.

“The business set a bold 2013/14 growth target for admissions with 5 per cent growth at Adelaide Zoo and 15 per cent at Monarto Zoo based on budgeted admission figures from the previous year,” Ms Bensted said.

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