Visitors crowded Cameron Park Zoo on Wednesday, as the second week of spring break in Texas continued to draw big tourist crowds.
On Tuesday, the zoo saw 4,119 visitors, bringing the total since March 1 to 25,188.
WATCH NOW: Construction at the Cameron Park Zoo’s Penguin Shores exhibit is going vertical, with progress still on track to be open by next summer. (November 2023)
Overall spring break traffic to Waco has been strong, partly driven by Magnolia’s decision to extend the Spring at the Silos festival to a second weekend, said Carla Pendergraft, assistant director of tourism at the Waco Convention and Visitors Bureau. The festival will wrap up Friday and Saturday with concerts, food and shopping opportunities.
The city of Waco also will be experimenting Friday and Saturday with a free shuttle running 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. among Waco attractions, including the zoo, Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, Waco Mammoth National Monument, Mayborn Museum and Dr Pepper Museum.
Spring break in Waco so far has been dominated by short-sleeve weather with highs in the 70s and 80s, encouraging early blooms on bluebonnets in the area.
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The National Weather Service Fort Worth office’s hazardous weather outlook for the region calls for widespread showers and thunderstorms Thursday, with high rain chances continuing through the weekend. The forecast calls for lows in the upper 50s and highs in the upper 60s.
Pendergraft said as long as the weather is not cold or continuously rainy, she expects tourism traffic will continue as usual.
“People have planned these trips and they’re not going to let rain get in the way,” she said.
WATCH NOW: Statistics show tourism in Waco has been treading water since COVID-19 inflicted a massive blow in 2020, when attendance at local attractions plummeted to slightly more than 1 million people. (January 2024)
