By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Thousands of people come to visit the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo every year. Last fall, city officials noted between 30,000 and 60,000 visitors come to see Great Bend’s free zoo each year, with the majority of them being from out of town.
Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Christina Hayes said the city is looking at ways to track where visitors are coming from when they come to the zoo.
"For example, if people are coming from Bazine, Kansas, where else might they be going?" asked Hayes. "Can I do more ads in Bazine, Kansas to get them to go to other places in Great Bend. That's the thought behind why we're trying to track this. Where do we need to be placing our marketing dollars?"
Approximately 80% of the zoo’s visitors come from out of town. The Great Bend CVB Board tossed around ideas of a sign-in book as visitors enter the zoo or an electronic tablet where patrons can enter their zip code.
"This would help with grants," added Hayes. "It would help with tourism efforts. It would know where these people are coming from."
The zoo opened in the 1950s and is open every day from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.