Every zoo and aquarium prioritizes animal care, and that is exactly right. But when the systems that support the visitor experience fall behind, such as the website, ticketing, or day-to-day operations, friction builds. Over time, that friction makes it harder to sustain momentum and growth.
The GetYourGuide Summit Week 2026 session on zoos and aquariums was notably candid about revenue strategy. Sarah Brainard from the Aquarium of the Pacific, Leanne Fitzpatrick from Vancouver Aquarium, Kati Macoun from Calgary Zoo, and Jay Judal from San Diego Zoo all said the quiet part out loud: they're mission-rich and resource-constrained, and the gap between what they are responsible for delivering and what they can actually fund is widening.
What stood out to me was not the challenges. It was how creatively these operators are working within them, and what that means for the broader hospitality and visitor experience industry.
A candid conversation about growth, resources, and visitor experience
This panel brought together four attractions navigating overlapping pressures: geopolitical shifts affecting international tourism, recession-sensitive guests, nonprofit funding models under strain, and a digital infrastructure that consistently ranks below other operational priorities in the budget. Moderated by Emily Hancock at GetYourGuide, the conversation was candid, grounded in real operating experience, and relevant well beyond zoos and aquariums.
Membership is a resilience strategy and a loyalty engine
When the economy softens, single-day ticket buyers become less reliable, but membership increases. Jay noted that 80% of their visitors have visited the park six or more times, and membership is priced at less than two visits.
This is pricing designed to build loyalty and member engagement at scale. The implication is clear. Attractions that optimize primarily for a walk-up revenue strategy are the most exposed when consumer confidence drops.
Market disruption is creating new demand
Canadian and US cross-border tourism has taken a real hit in both directions. The Aquarium of the Pacific responded quickly by targeting cruise travelers, building pre- and post-cruise experiences for visitors arriving through Los Angeles ports, and positioning the aquarium as a convenient stop for international families visiting Disneyland.
Calgary Zoo saw US visitation decline while visits from Mexico, the UK, and Australia increased. When markets shift, new demand emerges, and operators who track audience behavior closely and adjust positioning accordingly are better positioned to capture it.
Conservation is a powerful guest story
80% of survey respondents at the Aquarium of the Pacific said they learned something actionable about conservation during their visit.
Calgary Zoo's data shows 86% of visitors already know it's a conservation organization before they arrive. That level of awareness represents significant brand equity. Yet several panelists acknowledged that much of the conservation work remains behind the scenes and is not actively communicated. The gap between what the institution does and what it makes visible to guests is a meaningful opportunity.
Digital infrastructure is part of the guest experience.
Every panelist described a similar reality. Animal care leads, operations, and facilities follow, and digital is deferred. POS systems at concessions, ticketing at the gate, interactive screens, accessible websites, all chronically underfunded. One panelist called out still using paper vouchers through travel trade partners. Another noted they often have to buy a ticket themselves just to test whether the booking flow works. It's a quiet revenue leak worth taking seriously in your revenue strategy.
The next-generation audience question is unresolved.
An audience member asked a pointed question: are kids losing interest in zoos because they're overstimulated? Are you seeing more boomers and millennials and fewer children? The panelists didn't have a clear answer, because there isn't one yet. But the question matters. If the next generation of guests isn't forming relationships with these institutions early, the loyalty pipeline gets complicated fast.
What this means for zoos, aquariums, and cultural attractions
Mission is a differentiator, but only if you market it. Conservation credibility is rare in the visitor experience economy. Most commercial attractions can't claim it. Zoos and aquariums can, and they're leaving it largely untold. Perhaps that is strategic? Definitely worth exploring as I have more conversations with our partners on conservation storytelling.
Membership isn't just a revenue strategy; it's a resilience model. For any attraction navigating demand volatility, a strong membership base and member engagement smooths the peaks and valleys. It also gives you first-party data on your most loyal guests, which is increasingly valuable as third-party data becomes harder to get.
Data blind spots at the gate are a bigger problem than most realize. Multiple panelists described walk-up guests paying with cash or cards, with no identifying information captured. When your highest-volume channel is also your least-known customer segment, you're flying blind on your most important operational decisions.
The renovation/digital trade-off needs to be reframed. Digital infrastructure isn't a luxury investment. It's the foundation for OTA distribution, guest data, dynamic pricing, and conversion. When it perpetually loses to habitat updates, you're making a false choice, one that costs revenue every season.
Closing Thoughts
Zoos and aquariums carry something most businesses would envy: a mission people already believe in, a built-in community of loyal advocates, and emotional resonance that no marketing campaign can manufacture.
The opportunity isn't to become something else. It's to let the story they're already living; the rescues, the conservation programs, the decades of real work, be heard more clearly. And to build the digital and data infrastructure that lets them understand, reach, and grow the audience that already cares.
Mission-driven doesn't mean growth-exempt. These operators prove that every day. The question is whether the industry and its internal stakeholders will give them the tools to act on it.
At SSA Group, this is where we focus: strengthening the guest experience and commercial model so institutions can translate mission into sustained engagement, loyalty, and revenue.