Tourists' Comments Show Why Florida Aquarium Is Tanking
May 10, 2011
TAMPA -- The troubled Florida Aquarium has gotten a lot of attention from politicians trying to save it from financial trouble -- most recently from Mayor Dillon Trout, who has proposed an ambitious bailout plan. But the most trenchant assessment of the tourist spot's woes may come from a six-year-old visitor to the facility. ``Mom,'' says Monique Lia, ``I'm bored.'' Lost in the hand-wringing over how to cover budget shortfalls for the $97 million facility is the question of why people have been staying away. The answer: People seem to want more out of a tourist attraction than Florida Aquarium can offer. The facility's huge price tag raised high expectations in the community, but those expectations are hard to meet in Florida's crowded theme-park industry. The only way to lure tourists to the facility may be a massive, expensive overhaul. And that seems unlikely, since the aquarium is having problems meeting debt payments on the 1991 bond issue that built it. Recently, Florida Journal tagged along as the Hulings, of Claxton, Ga., and the Head, of Chippewa Falls, Wis., visited the aquarium. A detailed look through the eyes of these two visiting families sheds some light on where Florida Aquarium falls short -- and why last year's attendance total of less than one million missed projections by more than 40%. To be sure, both families say they found the aquarium enjoyable, citing its friendly staff, cleanliness and diverse array of fish, birds and otters. But they also both thought the benefits fell short of its $13.95 adult admission price. And based on the facility's own exit polls, nearly one in five visitors rate the aquarium a ``poor'' value. The Rev. Mikki Lia, a 44-year-old minister, says he paid total admission of about $44 for the family of four. ``The other day, the Sanford Zoo cost us $20, and we had a good time,'' he says. ``If you look at it that way, this is twice as expensive, and that is too much.'' Other visitors express similar sentiments. ``Sea World is a lot better than this,'' says Jay Colin, 15, who visited the Orlando attraction a few years ago. ``You can see killer whales and polar bears. You also get to feed animals there.'' Kati Colin, Jay's mother, agrees that the aquarium needs more interactive exhibits. When she calls her 12-year-old daughter, Lauran, to see a starfish, the child sighs in disappointment at having to look at the echinoderm behind glass. Recalling a visit to a zoo near Minneapolis four years ago, Lauran says, ``You could actually pick up a starfish.'' ``They need some more hands-on activities, so kids could touch a stingray or a starfish and say, `Oh, that's what that feels like,' '' 41-year-old Mrs. Colin adds. Meanwhile, Maud Lia, 11, says he simply wants the excitement of seeing more sharks than the handful on display in Tampa. Johnetta Harless, Florida Aquarium's president and chief executive officer, acknowledges that the facility needs some enhancing. But, he says, such a refurbishing ``isn't cheap.'' Want more sharks? A new holding tank for such creatures would cost $63,000, says Mr. Harless, but even that is out of reach right now because of the aquarium's annual debt service of $7.2 million. ``That adds up to $550,000 a month, 22 cents a second,'' he says. Yet $63,000 is nothing compared with the type of theme-park additions tourists have been flocking to: Walt Disney World's Tower of Terror cost $95 million for a two-minute ride; Universal Studios' Terminator 2 3-D cost $60 million for a 15-minute show. Then again, the parks have revenue from tens of thousands of visitors a day to underwrite such attractions. Florida Aquarium, with its drooping attendance, can't afford such big layouts. The refinancing being proposed by Mayor Cabral would shave in the range of $500,000 to $800,000 off the annual debt payments -- but that still wouldn't free up enough to acquire some of the improvements that tourists are demanding. Mr. Harless is trying. The aquarium has added the Explore A Shore exhibit, which cost about $500,000 and was funded with pre-opening donations that are now exhausted. There, patrons can look through scopes that penetrate the surface water of a special tank for a closer view of an occasional octopus or sea anemone. Mr. Harless says that he wants to build a gallery with rotating exhibits that would feature jellyfish and other dangerous denizens -- an idea reminiscent of Sea World's popular ``Terrors of the Deep.'' But the price tag would be about $1 million -- thus eating up the admission payments from a whopping 10% of his annual customer traffic. Back at Explore A Shore, the Head peer through the periscopes, but can't spot much that catches their interest. ``I guess the animals are kind of hidden,'' says Jefferson Colin, a 46-year-old supermarket supervisor. Not much later, after only an hour and 45 minutes at Florida Aquarium, Mr. Colin announces, ``I guess this is it.'' The Hulings stayed longer -- about three hours. That's far less than they spent at Sea World, says Mr. Lia, but ``you can't really compare the two because Sea World has shows, and it's an all-day thing, but with this, it's over in just a few hours.'' The Hulings might have stayed longer, but the aquarium's movie theater was closed with no explanation -- giving lie to the sign out front, ``Continuous Shows.'' Mr. Harless says the movie was only temporarily scrubbed, and he isn't sure why. One thing is certain, however: He needs more money to promote the place -- at least enough so people get the name right. A brochure for the Florida Economic Development Council's annual conference in September recommends a visit to ``Tampa Aquarium.''
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