'Truly remarkable' year for Chester Zoo as it makes historic announcement
The landmark year was also defined by successes in the zoo’s conservation breeding programmes.
Chester Zoo has set an all-time visitor record in a “truly remarkable” year.
New figures have revealed that a whopping 2,136,224 people visited the zoo in 2025 - breaking all previous attendance records since first opening in 1931.
It’s the first time Chester Zoo has ever reached the 2.1m visitor mark, surpassing its previous record of 2,086,785 set pre-pandemic in 2019.
2025 also saw the zoo launch two major developments, including the largest zoo habitat ever created in the UK and The Reserve, its highly anticipated hotel featuring 51 luxury lodges. Zoo bosses say funds generated by the developments have led to vital conservation breakthroughs globally.
Jamie Christon, Chief Executive Officer at Chester Zoo, said: “2025 has been a truly remarkable year for Chester Zoo and one that will be fondly remembered in our long history.
“To welcome more than 2.1million visitors and set a new record is an extraordinary achievement, and one that belongs to every single person who chose to visit our national conservation zoo - as well as our incredible staff and volunteers whose dedication makes everything we do possible.”
The landmark year was also defined by successes in the zoo’s conservation breeding programmes, including the historic birth of a snow leopard cub, the birth of the UK’s only fossa pups and eight Socorro dove chicks, a bird declared extinct in the wild in the 1970s.
The zoo also welcomed several highly endangered new arrivals, including two Asiatic lions - the world’s rarest lion species - alongside two Northeast African cheetahs, a pair of jaguars and two Asian elephants.
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Kirsten Pullen, Chief Conservation Officer at Chester Zoo, said: “Thanks to our visitors, our impact is being felt around the world as every ticket is funding vital conservation work, from caring for and breeding some of the world’s most threatened plant and animal species right here in Chester, to delivering projects on the ground in 20 different countries across Africa, Asia, South America and Europe.”