Exclusively for zoos.media – 01.09.2020. Author: Philipp J. Kroiß
Loro Parque is offering two different options to its visitors and those who stay at home in order to bring its animal ambassadors closer to them, despite the coronavirus.
Visiting the animals at Loro Parque is possible again
Loro Parque, the world’s best zoo according to TripAdvisor, is not yet opening its doors, however, it has come up with ways to bring its animals closer to visitors. Tourists and people living in Tenerife can now register for tours and be guided through the park in small groups, following safety measures.
Special times require special measures
The lockdown owed to the coronavirus pandemic has hit zoos and aquariums in general very hard. Those institutions, however, that rely on tourism have been struck especially hard. Loro Parque is one of them: you can’t just jump on a train to the Canary Islands, like you do to go to Berlin or Hamburg, and a journey by car is complicated and tedious.
This is why the touristic lockdown, which affected and continues to affect flights to the islands, has hit the Canaries with their leisure and natural parks especially hard. Whilst it may be quite calm for the few tourists on the island, tourism as a whole suffers, and directly or indirectly a large part of Tenerife’s local population and that of its neighbouring islands lives from it. This is why a zoo as large as Loro Parque cannot fully open under the current restrictions.
Nevertheless, in addition to the responsible care for the animals, which is of course ensured at Loro Parque, a modern zoo needs to be kept in good shape and is therefore practically always ready for visits. To the delight of its many fans, and incidentally most of its animals as well, Loro Parque has found a way to make use of this. Through exclusive tours, visitors can now enjoy a very special experience for a limited time, as Loro Parque explains on its Facebook page:
From now on those who are interested can register via email. As a further highlight, participants of the exclusive tour also receive a lunch at the steakhouse Brunelli’s. The restaurant, which is part of the Loro-Parque-Group and is situated just across Loro Parque’s entrance, serves sustainable and selected high quality meat. It is no coincidence that Brunelli’s, which offers a unique view on the ocean, is considered to be the best steakhouse on this side of the Atlantic.
Sponsoring an animal ambassador
As of late, animal lovers can also support the demanding care of one of the many animal ambassadors for nature conservation in Loro Parque. The modern zoo is hereby offering its friends a very special conservation experience in times of the coronavirus crisis: participants of the tours can experience proximity to the animals even in times of lockdown and learn interesting facts from the world of nature and species conservation, all whilst contributing to species conservation:
Twice a week, the park also publishes interesting videos on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. All of this is also aimed at preventing a society, that was far too alienated from nature already before the pandemic, from distancing itself even more from conservation due to the lockdown. Further alienation from nature is a danger that should not be underestimated and which the lockdown brings with it.
In Tenerife the lockdown has had a far greater impact than in Germany, for instance. Loro Parque is the only zoological institution on the island that defines itself as one of the world’s leading zoos and centres for conservation, research and education. This is why Loro Parque is such an important place, not least for the local population, where people can connect with nature and which is also of great economic importance for Tenerife as a tourist destination.
