Page 143 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 12 February 2020
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A local winery has reported its takings and visitor numbers are down by 50 per cent from the same period last year. Another local restaurant and function centre recorded a downturn of 70 per cent over their collective business of restaurant catering and smallgoods. A local cleaning company servicing more than 40 commercial properties in the ACT, including hotels, tourist park properties and the like, has reported a decrease in revenue of 60 per cent over the last seven weeks when compared to the previous time over the last four years.
Major national institutions have reported a significant reduction in numbers of visitors compared to last year, having a massive impact on the numbers that they anticipate achieving with some of the major blockbusters currently on show. Another privately owned major attraction has reported close to $600,000 in lost trade for January alone. That is coupled with the cancellation of major sporting tournaments and events, such as the ACT tennis competition that was relocated, again due to the air quality that we saw. Again, this has resulted in cancellations, countless visitors not turning up to the ACT, restaurants, cafes, bars across the ACT seeing a downturn in patronage, not to mention the potential long-term reputational damage this does to the Canberra product. Our region is not alone in suffering, but we must be aware that on our doorstep there are many that are doing it much tougher than they otherwise would have done, following a January period.
We well know the impacts on New South Wales and Victoria of the extensive bushfires that have burnt thousands of hectares of national parks and caused havoc in numerous towns, the death and destruction amongst those communities. With the instantaneous world of social media, the effects of this devastation have been widely broadcast and quite obviously had a huge impact on tourism numbers in Australia at both national and international levels.
Canberra is not exempt from this either. As our air quality hit the worst in the world, it made news stories not just nationally but also internationally. For a city that prides itself on being the bush capital, with a pristine environment, clean air and great opportunities for a holiday, that is not the message that you want packaged with that product.
The response from the commonwealth government, in a national response effort, has been swift and comprehensive, recognising the urgency of this situation for so many affected, particularly in the business space. An effective relief package is on offer from the commonwealth which, for small businesses, includes an automatic deferral of BAS payments until May this year, grant funding of up to $50,000 which is tax free, as well as two low-interest loan options of up to either $50,000 or $500,000 with interest-free periods and then a low interest rate beyond that, as well as some local economic recovery plans.
This has been coupled with the tourism relief package of $76 million, which focuses on promoting and reinvigorating the tourism sector in Australia, with $20 million being earmarked for a domestic marketing campaign to get visitors back into affected areas, funding for additional marketing in international media and tourism advertising, as well as boosting domestic tourism investment. One in 13 Australian jobs rely on
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