Lao Voices

Ban Keun Zoological Park in Vientiane province is struggling financially, with income only half of total expenditure, according to the zoo’s manager, Mr Bounchan Leephoung.

Mr Bounchan said on Tuesday that last year the park earned income of about 500 million kip through the sale of tickets to local and overseas visitors, while expenses for the year, including salaries for workers and feed for animals, was about 1 billion kip.

“It was impossible to run the business successfully and one of our shareholders had to take money from his own pocket to finance the operation of the zoo,” he told Vientiane Times by telephone.

The Lao government holds a 40 percent investment share in the zoo.

The zoo plans to sell its crocodiles and deer, but is facing problems with wildlife trade export restrictions.

Mr Bounchan, who has been working at the zoo since it was established in 1994, said the number of tourists visiting the park continues to decline. In 2006, total visitor numbers were around 80,000, but there were fewer in 2007.

This year, the number of visitors has been unusually low, bringing in income of only about 100 million kip since January. He said that if the situation continues, the zoo would struggle to earn the 500 million kip it has averaged in past years.

He said the drop in visitor numbers was due to the growing number of tourist attractions in other areas, especially in Vientiane province. The zoo rarely receives new animal species, so people who visit the park seldom come back again.

“The atmosphere now is very different from the days when the zoo had just opened; then there were large crowds,” he said. “It was not a big surprise, as it was the first zoo to open in Laos.”

Mr Bounchan said zoo shareholders are well aware of the situation but they have not provided any concrete solutions to the crisis, adding that all the management could do was to run the business carefully.

He said Ban Keun Zoo does not intend to import animal species from neighbouring countries just to increase business. This is not the case in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where thousands of people visit the city’s zoo just to see the Chinese panda exhibited there.

The shareholders are discussing how to revive the business, but as yet no solutions have been identified.

Ban Keun Zoological Park employs about 80 staff to take care of 2,000 animals, including a white elephant, which is believed to bring good fortune to the nation.

By Ekaphone Phouthonesy
April 11, 2008
Vientiane Times - Vientianetimes.org.la