Tropical World
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Intorduction
Tropical World is owned and operated by Leeds City Council’s Department of Learning and Leisure, and is a part of Roundhay Park Estate. It was originally a Victorian greenhouse that featured tropical plants. In the 1980s it opened as a tourist attraction and a registered zoo, in 2005 it received 400,000 visitors. It is covered by the Zoo Licensing Act, as a zoo it has an education and conservation remit, and participates in rare breeds breeding programmes. It is also a member of the Federation of Zoological Gardens of Great Britain and Ireland (Guide to Tropical World, 2007a).
Outside Tropical World
During Summer Tropical World is open from 10:00am until 18:00, and in Winter from 10:00am until 16:00 – this is because the attraction does not have any lights in the main glass house and relies on natural light for visitors to see where they are going. The attraction has a capacity of 1,500 visitors at any one time, and during peak periods (School Holidays, Public Holidays and weekends) regularly reaches capacity levels, which can cause congestion problems (Gregson, 2007).
If you are looking for somewhere different to take family when they visit, Tropical World is a great place to spend a couple of hours. The Tropical World website can be found by clicking here [1].
Admission to Tropical World is £3 for adults. If you have a Leeds Card, admission is free (Guide to Tropical World, 2007a).
Levels of Product at Tropical World
The illustration below shows the various levels of entertainment products offered at Tropical World (Leeds). The core product is shown in the yellow circle (the main reason for people coming to visit the attraction), The main reason which draws in an audience is the tropical plants and animals. The green section is the secondary level which are other factors that have will have an effect on the overall entertainment experience, however it is not the ultimate reason for coming to Tropical World. Lastly the red section is the tertiary level which supports the reasons for taking a trip to Tropical World and will have partial impact on a visitor choosing Tropical World over a similar type of venue but is not part of the core entertainment.
Visitors
Tropical World is one of the UK's most popular garden tourist attractions and exhibits the largest collection of tropical plants other than Kew Gardens. Each year over 1,000,000 visitors come see the various worlds from the alien landscapes to the exotic plant life (VR Leeds, 2007).
Roundhay Park Vistors Information
Enterance to Tropical World (Roundhay Park)
In terms of amenities Tropical World is quite unique in that it is almost in the heart of Leeds (3 miles north) but it has excellent facilities of transport to and from the park, including the shuttle service and park and ride. The entry fee is low and it has good access to wheelchair holders and parents with prams (Leeds City Council, 2007).
Although there are attractions similar to this venue, Tropical World does not see itself as having any main competitor because it is unique. The nearest animal orientated venues are Flamingo Land, North Yorkshire, Mean Wood Valley Urban Farm and the falconry shows at the Royal Armouries (Gregson, 2007).
Patterns of Ownership
In terms of staffing at Tropical World there are ten full time staffing and one volunteer worker who look after the overall running of the company. Part-time and full time staff is hired to run the gift shop, café and animal carers. When a position becomes available it generates a high income of interest as it is in a desired sector of entertainment. Animal Specialists must has be recruited to keep the animals healthy and this is done through an agency called BIAZA(Entplanet, 2007).
Future Plans and Challenges
At Tropical World the management has prepared both short and long term plans for the business. Within the next few years the company plans to continue growing business aimed at families. Looking further a field, it plans to attempt to attract more of a wider audience and generally more people into Roundhay. (Gregson, 2007).
Marketing
Tropical World promotes itself through the Leeds City Council and Roundhay Park Websites.
The venue also conglomerates with Audiences Yorkshire to distribute 60,000 leaflets to potential customers. Other media forms include working with Real Radio and Magic FM to promote big events in Roundhay Park (Gregson, 2007).
References
VR Leeds. (2007) Tropical World [Internet] Roundhay Park, Leeds. URL available from: <http://www.vrleeds.co.uk/tropicalworld.html> [Accessed 10th November 2007]
Leeds City Council. (2007) Tropical World [Internet] Roundhay, Leeds. URL available from: <http://www.leeds.gov.uk/page.aspx?egmsIdentifier=E1EB55661BE2AF8480256E1B0036CBDE> [Accessed 11th November 2007]
Entplanet. (2007) Visit to Tropical World [Internet] London. URL available from: <http://entplanet.blogspot.com/2006/12/visit-tropical-world.html> [Accessed 11th November 2007]
Tropical World. (2007a) A guide to Tropical World. (Leaflet)
Gregory, S. (2007) Interview with Shaun Gregory, General Manager, 2nd November, 2007
