Lowestoft zoo 'Africa Alive' says it relies on summer holiday business to survive
The zoo's home to animals including giraffes, lions and rhinos
A zoo in Lowestoft says business it gets during the summer holidays is crucial to ensuring it survives throughout the rest of the year.
Africa Alive, which is run by the Zoological Society of East Anglia (ZSEA), has been open since 1991, rescuing animals and working on conservation.
Josh Hunter-Harl is from ZSEA and says the zoo gets the most visitors in the summer months, which then helps them for the rest of the year: "The summer holiday period is our most important time of the year.
"We get around 30% of our footfall in this 6-week period which means that we really rely on customers coming out and supporting their local zoo...
"After the October half term we see a large decline in footfall."
According to Visit East England, the visitor economy of the East of England is valued at more than ÂŁ10bn a year, making it the largest industry sector and one of the biggest employers.
However, Josh tells us the industry's taken a hit due to the cost of living crisis, which has forced them to make changes to deal with it: "We're aware of the current economic climate and we've made a real conscious effort to make sure that the zoo remains affordable for everyone.
"We've seen the effects as well through rising supplier costs, we're trying to do everything we can, not to pass those onto the consumer."