Zoo's admission and memberships rates to rise in Winnipeg

CTV Winnipeg: Zoo rates on the rise Beth Macdonell on Winnipeg’s zoo increasing its rates as of April 1, citing the need to maintain exhibits and add more attractions.

Starting April 1, 2014, admission and membership rates at the Assiniboine Park Zoo are going up.

A yearly family membership is going up from $115 to $189 dollars per year.

And adult admission is going up from $8.50 with GST to $10.75. Costs for children between the age of two and 12 will rise from the current $5.50 to the rate of $6.95.

Zoo staff said costs must go up to maintain exhibits and to continue to add more attractions.

Staff said the 25 per cent increase reflects the cost of seeing animals, compared to other zoos across North America.

The newest exhibit at the zoo, Journey to Churchill, should open to the public this summer. When the Journey to Churchill exhibit opens, general admission will go up once again, but rates are still being finalized for that.

The zoo said its 2013 admission numbers reached nearly 400,000 people, which is the highest it has seen in more than 20 years.