Alderman Jisse Otter (Wakker Emmen) is very concerned about the lack of money at Wildlands animal park for new investments. He is looking at whether the municipality can adjust the million-dollar loan to the park to give Wildlands more financial scope.
The park currently has no money for large, new plans, and Otter thinks it should.
The ten-year vision that interim director Erik van Engelen leaves behind upon his departure is mainly about embellishing what is already there.
Different repayment schedule
Otter: ,,We are going to see if we can increase the investment space of Wildlands. Not by bringing money to it, but perhaps with a different repayment schedule for the loan that Wildlands has with us or different loan terms. Investing is crucial for the future.”
Otter said this at a meeting where the energy support plan for the animal park was discussed with Emmer councilors. The municipality wants to help the park and the theater with a gift of 1.4 million euros because of the sharply increased energy costs. According to the alderman, Wildlands is heading for a loss of 1.4 million euros without this support. “Now they’re going to come out at least around zero.”
In total, Wildlands and the Atlas Theater use 1.6 million cubic meters of gas and 7,300 Mwh of electricity per year. Gas consumption has been reduced by a quarter in recent years, mainly by lowering the temperature in the energy-guzzling large greenhouse.
“More than 1.4 million euros in support is a lot of money. I realize that”, Otter responded to the grumbling of, among others, the Hart voor Emmen and PVV parties, who noted that carrying water to the sea seems to be the case when it comes to Wildlands.
‘Earn on interest’
“It’s all how you want to see it. We get at least one million euros better every year because of Wildlands. We earn something on the interest, we earn on the property tax, we get extra tourist tax…”, he summed up.
“And then I’m only talking about the direct benefits. There are also indirect benefits to the economy. Tourists who come here stay here for dinner and overnight. From Tilburg you don’t go to Almelo, a similar place, but you do go to Emmen. And that’s because of Wildlands. The park is highly appreciated.”
Special circumstances
The alderman of Wakker Emmen pointed out that Wildlands actually costs the municipality nothing. “In principle, we do not contribute anything to the annual operation. The opposite: we actually save money on it. And it is true that we have a lot of money in it, but interest is paid nicely on that. And the fact that we are now coming with support for the third time are special circumstances: twice corona and once energy.
The municipality owns and bankers Wildlands, which opened its doors in 2016 and attracted 1.3 million visitors that year. After the debut year, it went downhill with visitor numbers and finances. In 2019, Emmen saved the park from bankruptcy by taking over all loans on more favorable terms; of the loan of 63 million euros, 61.6 euros still have to be repaid.
The government ownership does not only bring benefits to Wildlands. Because the park is in municipal hands, in corona times it grabbed next to national government support such as the Fixed Costs Allowance (TVL). According to Otter, that saved millions of euros, which other animal parks did receive.
Wildlands attracted 830,000 visitors last year. Whether profit or loss has been made, and how much, is not yet known. In 2021, the park wrote black figures for the first time in five years, mainly thanks to the corona support it received.