Zoo Ostrava The Annual Report 2009

To co-fund 46.4% from the operating costs and achieve profit, Ostrava Zoo generated own revenues of
CZK 34,607 thousand, these namely including revenues from entrance fees, but also other types of income,
especially from rental and advertising, sales of merchandise and materials, etc., as well as uncovered accounting
depreciations. Leaving the charged uncovered accounting depreciations of intangible assets item aside, as it
was just an accounting operation and as such does not contribute to the own income, the revenues generated
by the zoo decreased by 3.4% compared to 2008, which financially amounts to some 945 thousand CZK.
However, knowing that 2008 was the year of the highest visitor numbers (and thus the largest amount of
revenues achieved in the zoo’s history) and comparing the same numbers to those of 2007, the own revenues
achieved in 2009 are still higher by 3,189 thousand CZK than the 2007 own revenues. Further, the continued
crisis of economy that the Czech Republic and the surrounding countries were undergoing in 2009 should be
taken into account. In terms of GDP indicators, the Czech economics dropped by 4.2% over the same period.
Admission fee was and continues to be the largest and major own income component, participating on the
zoo’s own revenues (not considering the uncovered accounting depreciations) to the unbelievable extent of
81%. In 2009, the zoo was successful in maintaining 97% of the revenues achieved two years ago, in the best
period in terms of economics, meaning that revenues from admission fee recorded only a small decline by
CZK 573 thousand. Entrance fee is an element that is very hard to forecast or plan on a long-term basis, as it
is closely linked to the favour of weather, as well as to numbers of sunny days throughout the year. Outdoor
swimming pools suffer the parallel problem. Even though the 2009 weather was not so favourable and the
zoo did not launch any new visitor attraction, with the Little Amazonia exhibit being the only exception, the
zoo grounds were visited by 358,892 people, which is almost 99% of the previous year’s numbers, reached
additionally at the time, when Ostrava Zoo, ranking #19 on the Top 20 of the most visited tourist destinations
around the Czech Republic, jumped to place #13, which at the regional level only attested the unmatched
position Ostrava Zoo has had within the Moravian-Silesian Region in terms of visitor numbers.
The facts above have proved that the efforts and of course the finances invested in the development of new
exhibits and reconstruction of some existing buildings present the very assets contributing on a long-term
and systematic basis to increased tourist attractiveness of the zoo as such and even the City of Ostrava, as well
as entire Moravian-Silesian Region.
Other important sources of zoo income include rental and advertisement fees, sales of goods, revenues from
feedstuffs for specific animals sold through vending machines, fees charged as part of zoo train rides and
revenues from miscellaneous secondary services, but even those generated by sales of animals and materials.
The continued economical recession influenced to the great extent the revenues from advertisement,
merchandising and sale of feeds through vending machines, with the latter being also affected by problems
with thefts as well as the high level of vandalism in the beginning of the year. The zoo managed to reduce
the extent of decline in these sources of income by increased revenues from rental and other activities, which
resulted in only limited reduction of a mere 4.7%.
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