Based on your list of recommended attractions to visit from TripAdvisor, I decided on Singapore zoo as the attraction to recommend to you. I made a trip there recently and would be sharing with you more information about this attraction.
Picture of me at the zoo
Brochures collected at the zoo
Classification of the attraction
Singapore Zoo is owned by the private sector with profit being the main priority. The zoo is a secondary attraction as visitors are unlikely to visit Singapore just for Singapore Zoo but tend to visit it when they are in Singapore. Just like how you are considering visiting the zoo when you are in Singapore but are not coming here just to visit the zoo. As for the catchment areas, they are local and international and the zoo is located in Mandai, a rural area of Singapore.
Well planned man-made site
Singapore Zoo is classified as a generally permanent man-made site designed to attract visitors with tourism being perceived as beneficial and an opportunity. It is considered an attraction and not a destination as it is an individual site based on wildlife animals as the single key feature. Singapore Zoo is both a visitor attraction and tourist attraction as it attracts tourists and local day-visitors such as yourself. There are also many food and beverage outlets strategically located in the zoo and tram services as supporting services and facilities of the attraction. So if you do not feel like walking much that day, you can still look at the animals while sitting on the tram and easily buy food when you are hungry.
Snack and drinks stall stationed around Singapore Zoo
Tram services offered in the zoo
Target Market
Singapore Zoo targets both international and local visitors, attracting people of all ages and gender to come and take a look at and interact with many kinds of animals here. There are many activities available to suit the needs and wants of each stage of the family life cycle, thus making Singapore Zoo a popular attraction. The zoo targets day visitors as there are no accommodations available within the zoo and the opening hours are only until 6pm.
Interaction between visitors and animals
However, Singapore zoo caters more to people living urban lifestyles as it allows people come in contact with wildlife animals, which is a rarity in cities. Singapore Zoo is a safe and commercialized place that holds a variety of animals. Hence, it targets the less adventurous people, as the more adventurous people would probably prefer to go into the wild jungles to see wildlife in their natural habitat while the less adventurous people are contented with viewing animals in the zoo.
Motivating factors
Singapore Zoo has an "open zoo" concept that makes use of animal psychology to create habitats without cages or fences. By using moats surrounding each type of animals, this prevents them from attacking one another. Moreover, these moats are artfully concealed with plants and are usually barely noticeable. By using this concept, it gives the zoo an essence of freedom. You will be able to see the animals roaming freely in their almost natural habitats that Singapore Zoo had recreated based on their natural environments. What you will experience at Singapore Zoo will be totally different compared to other zoos that makes use of cages, If you enjoy photography, this concept is most heavenly as there are no cages or fences blocking the view of the animals and you can take lovely pictures of the animals in their habitats.
Apes hanging on trees just inches away from the visitors with no fences or enclosures
As Singapore Zoo has a nature theme to it, you will be able to feel closer to nature and experience a different kind of environment as compared to city life. The atmosphere in the zoo is very calming and time is slow paced in here which will be a big difference compared to your hectic lifestyle. I think you will enjoy it very much as it is a good place to relax and learn more about wildlife animals at the same time. While moving around the zoo, you will find that the lush forests give a very soothing and calming feeling and it really takes you away from the urban lifestyle you are so used to. It would be a refreshing change.
Trail with dense plantations on each side
Unique nature of Singapore Zoo as a service product
Staff as part of the product:
The very first staff of Singapore zoo you will come in contact with would most probably be the ones standing at the entrance of the zoo, asking you which area or animals you are interested in viewing and directing you to the ticket counter. You will then encounter the staff photographers, guides and greeting staff. The staffs here are very pleasant looking, with smiles on their faces and are polite when communicating with you. Their energy levels seemed to be very high and it rubs off on you, making you feel excited as well.
A smiling staff assisting a little girl
If Singapore Zoo did not train and select their staff well, it will lead to unpleasant experiences for the visitors. Therefore, training and standard operating procedures are very important for the staff to ensure that the visitors get the best service.
Customers are involved in the production process:
As a customer yourself, your attitude, past experiences and expectations when you visit the zoo will customize the product, meaning that it will affect the overall experience you receive at the zoo. For each visitor that visits the zoo, they will have a different experience.
Let's say, you have visited zoos that are of a higher standard than Singapore Zoo or have high expectations and if Singapore Zoo does not meet your expectations, you will feel disappointed as compared to other visitors who has never been to a zoo before and therefore enjoyed themselves thoroughly.
Service product is not standardized:
As the production process is continuous with customers directly involved, the product is constantly changing. The relationship between the service, the staff delivering the service, the customers and resources involved are not the same all the time. You may find that the attitudes of the staff are different from one another and that the weather may not be suitable for a day at a zoo. Hence, everyone visiting the zoo on the same day will get a slightly different experience and level of satisfaction.
The service provided by the staff will vary and will affect the visitors' experience and satisfaction, possibly resulting in unhappiness or disdain, which will affect Singapore Zoo's reputation. Furthermore, if the weather is being uncooperative, the experience of the visitors will be affected as well.
Perishability of product:
If you decided to buy tickets to Singapore Zoo on a particular date and you happen to be unable to make it, you can't keep the tickets and go on another day. The tickets can only be used on the date stated.
Expiry date on the admission ticket
The zoo cannot sell left over tickets from yesterday as the maximum capacity of the zoo will still be the same today. Hence, ensuring the sale of tickets to be as high as possible is important so as to not make a loss.
No tangible product:
The visitors of Singapore zoo, such as yourself, are unable to know what the experience at the zoo will be like unless they are already there and no exchange or refund can be make if experience is unsatisfactory.
As the staffs of the zoo are unable to sort out problems in the delivery of the service, they must ensure that they provide the service flawlessly on the first time to ensure that the visitors are not upset and are satisfied.
Surroundings are a feature of the service:
The environment of the zoo has to be functional and attractive to the visitor, the plants and habitats of the animals had to be aesthetically pleasing while being useful such as providing shelter and food. Also, the paths around the zoo have to direct human traffic flow so that a bottleneck will not be formed and it will not be overcrowded.
Singapore Zoo has to ensure that the layout of their facilities ensure smooth human traffic flow and the habitats of the animals have to appeal to the visitors while being as similar to their original environment as possible.
Why the high rank on TripAdvisor?
Personally, I feel that Singapore Zoo has met the needs of the visitors. Singapore Zoo has a wide variety of wildlife animals and to see every single animal in the zoo would take a few hours, providing a full experience. Together with the many signboards filled with information, visitors who wish to learn more about the animals are able to do so. Most importantly, visitors like to take photos and the "open zoo" concept really met this need of the visitors as the animals can be photographed clearly and without obstruction of cages or fences. In addition, visitors enjoy hands on activities and the feeding of animals enabled them to interact even more closely with the animals which makes the visit to the zoo more interesting and exciting.
Feeding time for the kangaroos
Picture of a white tiger with no fencing blocking it
And with Singapore's weather being either super hot or wet with rain, the tram services perfectly cater to the needs of the visitors, providing shelter while still being able to observe the animals at a relatively near distance. The tram service is also great for families with elderly and young children, making it easier to travel around the zoo. Furthermore, the many snack stalls and Ben & Jerry's located all over the zoo makes it really convenient for visitors to snack while walking around and try to beat the heat with a cold drink or ice cream.
Singapore Zoo has always been trying very hard to come up with innovative ideas to further improve their exhibits and by having the first night zoo, Night Safari, it has drawn the interest of many potential visitors. With the incorporation of the River Safari, Singapore Zoo has managed to capture the attention of visitors and drawing more visitors to the zoo ever since. Also, by bringing in the first two pandas in Singapore from China, it has caused a shiver of excitement in potential visitors and therefore successfully promoting itself. With this many new and exciting events going on in the Singapore Zoo, I think that it has been pretty successful in getting the attention of visitors and increasing the number of tickets sold.
Advertisement of River Safari
Impact on Singapore
Economic impact:
There will be an increase in income for the government through taxes paid by the employees of Singapore Zoo, sales taxes paid on items bought and entrance fees paid by visitors. At the same time, Singapore Zoo provides people with jobs directly and indirectly when they expand the attraction.
Environmental impact:
In order to build the Singapore Zoo, parts of the forest at the Mandai area had to be cleared for infrastructure take its place. This led to a destruction of the natural environment during construction but as parts of the forests remained and more trees and plants were grown in the zoo itself, the impact was reduced. Nonetheless, with the many food and beverage outlets, buildings and animals, there is air, noise and water pollution. Singapore Zoo can look to adopting a "go green" sustainability program where they use animal manure and green manure to provide electricity for the zoo. However, despite these negative impacts on the environment, the zoo actually helps with maintaining surviving species of animals and preventing extinction of certain species by helping the animals to breed.
Socio-cultural impact:
The local community and culture would be enriched with knowledge of wildlife animals and contribute positively to their understanding and perception, changing the way they act towards animals. By enabling he local community to learn more about the conservation of wildlife animals, hopefully it would bring about a positive change in people's attitudes and behavior. However, Singapore Zoo is a little out of the way, making traveling there a bit of a hassle but the zoo does help boost the local community's interest in science and serves as a place for outdoor learning and hands-on activities.
I hope the information I shared would be of help to you and hope you will enjoy visiting Singapore Zoo when you are in Singapore.
Goodbye for now!
References:
Temasek Polytechnic, (2011). Attractions Management Lecture 1:
Attractions Management in Perspective. Singapore: Temasek Polytechnic Leisure
and Resort Management Division.
Michael
Aquino, Singapore
Zoo - Worldwide Wildlife Without Cages. Retrieved May 19, 2013 from
http://goseasia.about.com/od/singaporestopattractions/a/singzoo.htm
Dantruong,
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Zoo - Worldwide Wildlife Without Cages. Retrieved May 19, 2013 from
http://dantruong.ws/travel-to-singapore/singapore-zoo-worldwide-wildlife-without-cages.html
Park
Experience. Retrieved
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http://riversafari.com.sg/visitor-info/park-experience.html
Park
Experience. Retrieved
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http://www.nightsafari.com.sg/visitor-info/park-experience.html
Sustainable
Zoos & Aquariums in Action. Retrieved May 19, 2013 from
http://www.eaza.net/activities/sustainability/Pages/ZoosAquariums.aspx
Links for pictures:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Singapore_Zoo_entrance-15Feb2010.jpg/300px-Singapore_Zoo_entrance-15Feb2010.jpg
http://enanology.blogspot.sg/2013/03/singapore-zoo-one-of-worlds-best.html
http://www.guidegecko.com/north/a-food-and-drink-kiosk-in-singapore-zoo/pp,2218
http://cathyandgarystravelpages.com/jsw_singapore_zoo_tram.jpg
http://static.asiawebdirect.com/m/phuket/portals/www-singapore-com/homepage/attractions/singapore-zoo/allParagraphs/0/scaledImage/image.jpg
http://photos.zoochat.com/large/img_0431-58082.jpg
http://www.zoo.com.sg/images/kidzworld/img-ride4.jpg
http://www.zoo.com.sg/images/showsfeedingtimes/img-tokenfeeding.jpg
http://www.riversafari.com.sg/images/home/banner-RISGO-Park-01.jpg
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