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The Can-Do Attitude At Zoo, Aquarium

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 1, 2007

Lowry Park Zoo and the Florida Aquarium are knocking their attendance and revenue numbers out of the park, and the reason is obvious.

Both of the public facilities, while devoted to educating visitors about the natural world, are run with an entrepreneurial spirit. Their leaders promote innovation, efficiency and, most importantly, pleasing customers.

So it's no surprise that both are enjoying robust attendance and revenues.

It wasn't always so. The Lowry Park Zoo once was considered one of the worst zoos in the nation, with animals housed in tiny cages. The city renovated and expanded the zoo, housing the wildlife in quarters that replicated their natural habitats.

Along with the new look came a new attitude. The zoo, under director Lex Salisbury, focused on finding different ways to attract visitors and improve their experience. His team has continually added new exhibits and education programs.

This year the zoo attracted a record 1.1 million visitors. Yet it receives one of the smallest subsidies of any public zoo in the nation, about 6 percent, thanks to rigorous control of costs.

At the aquarium, director Thom Stork and his team have accomplished a similar resurrection.

The attraction was widely viewed as a disaster in its early years, despite its beautiful design and alluring exhibits. But there wasn't enough to keep customers coming back. Staff took a somewhat somber attitude toward their education mission.

Stork, a former marketing director for Busch Gardens, brought energy and enterprise to the facility. And he has made believers of his staff, who remain committed to environmental education, but now also want to make sure people have fun - and keep coming back.

So now aquarium visitors will find interactive displays, a kids' water park, penguins marching through the lobby and all kinds of interactive experiences. You can even dive with the sharks.

At the same time, Stork has overhauled businesses practices to cut costs and generate more revenue.

Not long ago, the city had to supplement the aquarium's operating budget by more than $1 million a year. Now that's down to $600,000 and Stork is intent on eliminating it altogether.

Stork and Salisbury and their staffs deserve credit for managing delightful attractions - and proving that public facilities can be run with private sector efficiency.

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