KENTUCKY — The coronavirus pandemic’s effect on the economy in Kentucky has been extreme.

As COVID-19 cases climbed, postponements and cancelations continued.

Overall, Kentucky has suffered an economic downturn not experienced since the Great Depression. Businesses that rely on crowds of people, such as food service, arts, entertainment and hospitality, were also hit especially hard.

During this week's edition of In Focus Kentucky, host Mario Anderson is broadcasting from one of Kentucky’s signature tourism destinations, the Louisville Zoological Gardens, or more commonly known as the Louisville Zoo.

This is a 134-acre zoo was founded in 1969 as the "State Zoo of Kentucky." There are more than 1,700 animals in naturalistic and mixed animal settings representing both geographical areas and biomes or habitats.

Kyle Shepherd, media relations manager with the Louisville Zoo, joins this segment to share how the travel destination location is hopeful for a boom in tourism, as the threat of COVID-19 still looms.

"So we're here all the time and during the pandemic that didn't change, of course. We were closed to the public for three months though, from March to June. And when we reopened in June, the public were so excited to come back, spend some time with their families at an outdoor venue and just learn about our planet. So, it was really nice to create that space where we're such a weather-driven venue sometimes. It was nice to be an outdoor venue this time, because people had cabin fever and we're ready to get out," explained Shepherd.