The week that wasn’t for CBD business – APEC 2007: [1 All-round Country Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 10 Sep 2007: 8.
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Abstract
“CBD businesses need patronage back up to normal levels real quickly — and if there are any ideas from the state government, such as fare-free days, or a short, sharp advertising campaign to encourage shoppers to visit the CBD, then they should be encouraged,” Mr [Kevin MacDonald] said.
“It’s been quiet since the beginning. I think it’s raw. We don’t get any compensation,” he said.
Bookshops reported poor sales. “The turnout was way down,” a spokesman for Dymocks said. “It was a very slow trading week; no one wanted to come to thecity.”
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MANY Sydney businesses paid a high price for the summit, with the city increasingly deserted as the week progressed.
Restaurants, cafes, and even water taxis reported a dramatic drop in turnover.
The ultimate cost for small and medium-sized businesses is expected to run into hundreds of millions of dollars.
NSW Business Chamber chief executive Kevin MacDonald said yesterday there was no doubt CBD retail businesses had taken a big hit.
As an indication of the size of the loss, the cost to metropolitan businesses alone for the Friday public holiday wages bill was $327million.
Businesses spoken to by the chamber reported trading losses for the week of between 50 and 75per cent.
“CBD businesses need patronage back up to normal levels real quickly — and if there are any ideas from the state government, such as fare-free days, or a short, sharp advertising campaign to encourage shoppers to visit the CBD, then they should be encouraged,” Mr MacDonald said.
Water Taxis Combined manager Richard Greene said business had been 80 per cent down.
“It’s been quiet since the beginning. I think it’s raw. We don’t get any compensation,” he said.
“Everyone is paying the price for APEC. It’s been shocking. Almost everyone has lost money. Business has been terrible; everything is down.”
Water taxi skipper Mark Williams said it was “like a neutron bomb had hit Sydney”.
“Everything has been deserted. You sit in the middle of the harbour and normally there are people like ants everywhere, weddings, tourists, people going to dinner; and all it’s been are security people in blue, nothing else,” Mr Williams said.
“We do big restaurant work; and I think if most of them had known how bad it was going to be, they would have closed for the week. The restaurants in Woolloomooloo and Darling Harbour have been trading at about one-quarter of normal. It been very, very quiet.”
Bookshops reported poor sales. “The turnout was way down,” a spokesman for Dymocks said. “It was a very slow trading week; no one wanted to come to thecity.”
Svetla Krejcova, shift manager at the 24-hour cafe City Extra at Circular Quay, also said it had been extremely quiet, “except for the security guys coming in for takeaway coffees”.
Even businesses 5km or more from the APEC restricted zone were badly affected. Matthew Page, owner of Burger Bar in Surry Hills, said he had been forced to lay off casual staff and was down about $10,000 in turnover for the week.