Germany: Rostock Zoo Looks back at 2020 Financial Year, Invests in Ongoing Projects & Digital Infrastructure
© © Zoo Rostock / Gohlke
Rostock Zoo takes a look back at the 2020 financial year, which was determined by the Corona pandemic. With a total visitor number of 589,274 guests, the zoological facility recorded a decrease of over 62,000 visitors in comparison to the previous year. “Of course Corona had an impact on Rostock Zoo, too. In total, the zoo was closed for eight weeks. The animal houses remained closed for a further nine weeks, and the Darwineum tropical hall even for almost the entire year. Due to further restrictions and reduced ticket prices, we have suffered sales losses in a six-digit range,” explaines Udo Nagel, director of the zoo. But he also looks optimistically to the future and the upcoming season: “But now we look confidently to the future on the basis of the falling rate of infections and to reopening the zoo soon.”
As announced one year ago, Rostock Zoo is planning a new seal facility, including a spacious exhibition area and a visitors’ gallery (cf. EAP news of 13 Feb 2020). The zoo plans to start construction on the enclosure this spring – with the opening scheduled for late 2022 or early 2023. Other renovation projects this year include the completion of the otter enclosure for European Otters. Additionally, the outdoor enclosure for the group of gorillas will undergo a major redesign. To enhance visitor comfort, infrastructural digitalization measures have started in order to provide full network coverage at the zoo.
As a digital solution during the zoo’s ongoing closure, the facility has developed a digital Escape Room that offers a virtual look into the Darwineum. The game, which is designed for children aged eight years and older, is offered to both individual users and groups of children, e.g. as an entertaining program for a digital birthday party. The 60- to 90-minute experience costs 9.99 euros and consists of three different levels in which quizs related to the Darwineum’s animals are to be solved. (eap)
