An editorial including a financial analysis addressing the tightened budget of Zoo New England with statistics on zoo attendance in the New England area. The findings show that cost per visitor decreased from 2006 to 2007, but the Franklin Park Zoo cost per visitor is one of the highest in the country.

Allen Nyhuis, author of America’s Best Zoos, stated, “According to this 2007 survey, the Franklin Park Zoo had an Attendance of 266,997 in the year 2006, and they had an Operating Budget of $8.01 million. (For Stone Zoo, it’s 149,254 attendance and $2.47m budget.) If these numbers are correct, that means Franklin Park is spending $30 per visitor! Of the 86 zoos in my analysis, this is the 3rd-highest expenditure on the list. Only the San Diego Zoo ($31.48) and San Diego Wild Animal Park ($32.25) were higher. The Bronx Zoo is at $27.07 ($53.25m for 1,967,033 attendance); Central Park at $7.88 ($8.12m for 1,030,741); and Providence’s Roger Williams Park Zoo is at $16.50 ($8.62m for 522,539).”

Attendance figures originating from zoos:

Franklin Park 2009 342,313 2008 326,543 2007 308,166 Stone Zoo 2009 266,484 2008 197,889 2007 213,016 Financial analysis of these two zoos shows based on combined attendance shows that cost per visitor for 2007 was $21.69; Zoo New England actually lowered its costs per visitor from 2006 to 2007.