Proposal would raise nonresident admission to zoo

Nonresidents 13 and older who visit the Honolulu Zoo will need to pay $2 more starting next year under a proposal by Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration.

The proposed fee hike, which would raise the nonkamaaina adult fee to $16, comes on the heels of a report issued by the Honolulu Zoo Working Group last month. The group of key zoo stakeholders convened shortly after the facility lost accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums last spring.

The working group’s findings will be on the agenda of Wednesday’s City Council Budget Committee meeting at 9 a.m. The report found that the zoo’s operating expenses have increased four straight years while zoo attendance has declined noticeably.

“The zoo presently relies on zoo admissions fees for 83 percent of its total operating revenue,” the report said. Declining attendance has placed a burden on the zoo’s operating budget, and, as a result, “the working group finds that the zoo’s present business model must be changed to reflect a much more diversified selection of revenue generating programs and activities.”

Guy Kaulukukui, the city’s director of enterprise services, described the non­kamaaina fee increase for those 13 and older as a “modest” proposal. The report suggested an increase of $5 for nonresident adults could be sustained. “But we strongly believe we want to go up incrementally,” Kaulukukui said. “We wanted to have the opportunity to add more value back to the experience before we take more value from the visitor.”

The working group’s findings were based largely on two marketing studies commissioned by the Honolulu Zoo Society. The first study, conducted by SMS Research, called the Honolulu Zoo experience underpriced. It suggested that zoo attendance would not be adversely affected by the proposed price increase.

Meanwhile, an operating and finance study by Schultz & Williams echoed findings in the SMS study and further suggested that “the zoo would benefit from greater flexibility in its management and operations, the creation of new sustainable revenue sources and a significant investment in marketing, advertising and branding.”

Figures show 58 percent of fiscal 2016 admissions revenues came from single-ticket, nonkamaaina visitors, city officials said.

Diversifying the zoo’s revenue stream “is our No. 1 priority moving forward,” Kaulukukui said. Among the possibilities are “value-added programs” such as animal encounters and other types of behind-the-scenes tours allowing visitors to get closer, where appropriate.

Other types of products might be tailored to the visitor industry, perhaps providing more of a unique Hawaii experience given that the zoo is across from Waikiki, he said.

David Earles, zoo society executive director, concurs with the working group’s analysis and is prepared to help. “We stand ready to implement anything that the zoo and city tell us,” Earles said.

Councilman Trevor Ozawa, who represents the East Honolulu district that includes both the zoo and Waikiki, said he supports higher admission fees for nonresident adults as long as prices for youth do not increase.

Alethea Rebman, president of the Kapiolani Park Preservation Society board, said that it’s up to the city and the zoo to increase admissions, but her group will be monitoring closely how the city plans to raise more revenue since the land is supposed to be used only as a public park.

“They cannot have commercial or non-zoo-related activities on there,” Rebman said. “It is not a commercial area for rent.”

Also on Wednesday’s agenda is Bill 68 (2016), which allows the mayor’s Department of Enterprise Services to adjust admissions fees through rule-making, bypassing Council approval.

The administration is aiming to petition for reaccreditation by sometime in the second half of 2017 and no later than 2018, Kaulukukui said.

Zoo Director Baird Fleming announced his resignation in November. He was the city’s fifth zoo director in seven years. Kaulukukui said the city expects to launch a search for Fleming’s replacement by March and make a selection by June.