Don't miss

You are here > Visitor Info > More Information > Visit Devon News > Wildwood Escot is ‘good to go’ for visitors

Wildwood Escot is ‘good to go’ for visitors

1st July 2020

Categories: Visitor News

Devon wildlife park and conservation charity, Wildwood Escot, has been given the green seal of approval by Visit England, as part of the leading tourism organisation’s ‘Know Before You Go’ campaign.

With July 4th and the delights of summer right around the corner, staycations and local tourist attractions are predicted to experience a huge boom this year. To help Brits plan ahead, Visit England has launched its new industry standard campaign, and Wildwood Escot has passed with flying colours. The reopened on June 15th with overwhelming customer support for the safety measures it has put in place. The tourism sector has been hugely affected by the covid-19 pandemic, with inbound tourism set to drop 63% this year.

The new industry standard will give a helping hand and build a ‘ring of confidence’ around British tourism organisations, signalling the safe places to go to while helping attractions like Wildwood Escot bounce back from the pandemic.

Wildwood Escot has been open to the public since June 15th and has received an amazing response from visitors The team is delighted to have been recognised for their excellent measures and visitor care, and hopes this new accreditation will see even more animal lovers head to its gates.

George Hyde, General Manager at Wildwood Escot, said; ‘’We’ve had such supportive and appreciative feedback from our visitors who feel really well cared for and relaxed with the safety measures we’ve put in place. The good-to-go sign gives us that official and formal acknowledgement that we have been approved at the highest possible level’.

For accreditation, businesses in the British tourism sector are required to confirm a range of safety measures taken to achieve a ‘good-to-go’ sign. Wildwood has put in place many of these, including limited entries to the park, one-way systems and multiple hand sanitising stations.

Reconnecting with animals and nature

Wildwood is not only an animal park for British wildlife, it is also a leading conservation charity for British wildlife. The park is not just an attraction but also a place where species conservation, animal rescues and nature preservation, which is a big part of the organisation’s mission, is in action.

During lockdown funds for vital conservation projects including bringing dormice, wildcats and red squirrels back from the brink of extinction, have shrunk massively.

The park works to reconnect people with nature and wildlife, which is now more important than ever. Reopening the park not only gives people the joy of meeting native British species face to face, it’s also an outlet for months of indoor time where many people felt like they lost touch with nature.

‘’People are extremely happy to be back at Wildwood,” said George. “They really appreciate being outdoors and getting close to nature after so long inside or in their back gardens.‘’

And the animals also seem happy to have visitors back in the park again.

‘’The otters and wolves have really been putting on a show for visitors, and our newest resident, arctic fox Lyra, is shining with all the attention and new experiences in the park.” said George.

He concludes: ‘’We can’t wait to have more people back at Wildwood Escot and for them to have a fantastic summer day out.’’