Jackson Zoo turns away visitors who don’t have cash, costing thousands in potential revenue

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A lack of modern technology at the Jackson Zoo has cost thousands of dollars in potential summer revenue from would-be visitors who were turned away because the facility only accepts cash, city officials said.

The lack of an electronic payment system has hampered the zoo’s ability to earn income, said Abram Muhammad, the director of the City of Jackson’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

“In the month of May, we had to turn away 423 potential patrons simply because we did not have electronic payments in place,” Muhammad said during a news conference Monday. “That equates to $5,000 to $7,300 of revenue we missed out on just that month alone.”

In June, the more than 100-year-old Jackson Zoological Park missed out on potentially $6,800 in revenue; in July $11,000, the Clarion Ledger reported, equating to between $22,800 to $25,100 in lost revenue primarily because an electronic payment system is not in place.

But, that will soon change as such a system, which accepts credit and debit payments, will be installed at the end of the month, Muhammad said.

Other factors also contributed to the zoo’s drop-off this year, he added, noting the park had to be closed due to water issues and broken pipes, and when fiber optic cables were installed, WLBT-TV reported. In addition, the zoo’s train has been out of service but should return by the end of August, which will be a boost to the revenue stream, he predicted.

“There was a whole plethora of things that took place in comparison to last year, the challenges we met and overcame ... in order to get back on track,” Muhammad said.

In past years, there has been talk of moving the zoo to LeFleur’s Bluff in North Jackson instead of keeping it in its current home in West Jackson, the heart of Mississippi’s capital city. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba is staunchly against the idea and reiterated that position during Monday’s news conference.

“Does the Jackson Zoo need investment? Does it need more money? Would it benefit from that? Yes,” Lumumba said. “I don’t believe that I should look at the people of West Jackson and say, ‘You don’t deserve to be invested in.’ Yes, the Jackson Zoo needs more money, it needs more investment, but it can be invested in where it is just as the notion of it can be invested across town.”