Zoo has significant economic impact

Toledo Business Journal, May 01, 2004

"The Toledo Zoo is a business enterprise and has a strong impact on the community," stated Bill Dennler, executive director, Toledo Zoo. The organization recently completed a study to assess the economic impact of the Toledo Zoo on the Toledo area. "We were a little surprised by how high the actual impact was. We expected it to be in the range of $50 to $60 million annually, but it was significantly above this level," Dennler explained.

Dennler joined board of trustees' president Patrick Johnson in releasing the results of the economic analysis study in mid April.

According to the study, recently completed by economists from the Center for Policy Analysis and Public Service at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), the Toledo Zoo has generated a substantial return on investment for the local economy.

According to the study, the Toledo Zoo makes a nearly $70 million annual economic impact on the local economy, and for each dollar the Zoo receives in tax levy funds, it generates $7.90 in local economic activity. For the years 1998-2002, the Zoo's total economic impact was close to $350 million.

"Our study also concludes that the Toledo Zoo is a major driver of employment, annually creating 1,385 full-time equivalent jobs in the local economy through its direct and indirect impacts. That means that approximately 6,925 jobs were created by the Zoo just during the course of the study," stated Michael C. Carroll, PhD, of the Center for Policy Analysis and Public Services, Department of Economics, BGSU.

The BGSU study used data from the Toledo Zoo's audited financial statements and a variety of secondary industry, demographic, and economic data sources. The study measured the direct impact made by the Zoo through labor, goods, and services; the indirect impact made by the Zoo through industryto-industry purchases; and the induced impact made by the Zoo through the change in household demand as Zoo employees and their suppliers spend their wages and salaries as consumers. As part of the methodology, the study examined accounts payable records to track and examine actual expenditures made by the organization.

The research team employed an input output model closely related to methodology designed by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. "Using specific multiplier data along with BGSU Geographic Information Systems (GIS) location methodology yielded a level of accuracy that was unobtainable even a few years ago," stated Carroll.

Carroll and Dennler explained that a very conservative multiplier was used in calculating the economic impact of the Toledo Zoo. Both expressed confidence in the reliability of the analysis results.

Carroll and Dennler also explained that through an examination of revenues and attendance research, visitors to the Toledo Zoo come from a broader regional market Gate records show that 18 percent of Zoo visitors live outside the twenty-four county area that is the Zoo's primary market. This area includes counties extending from Saginaw, Michigan south to Lima, Ohio. Visitors to the Zoo from outside this primary market area spend $22 million annually at local businesses when visiting the zoo.

Dennler concluded by explaining that in 1982 when the Toledo Zoological society took over the management of the Toledo Zoo from the City of Toledo, approximately 400,000 visitors a year came to the facility. Today, the Toledo Zoo is one of the region's top attractions with approximately 1 million visitors a year.