Coronavirus: How to help Cairns businesses through tough 2020

Restaurants and retailers have urged Cairns residents to keep supporting them during one of the toughest Chinese New Year periods in recent history.

Swarovski (Cairns CBD) sales consultant Vivian Zhang is concerned about a decline in sales. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE

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RESTAURANTS and retailers have urged Cairns residents to keep supporting them during one of the toughest Chinese New Year periods in recent history.

Jewellery and crystal specialist Swarovski’s Abbott St store usually receives up to 60 per cent of its takings from Chinese customers.

During the lunar new year, that figure rises to 90 per cent but this year sales have dropped by about half.

The federal government has now stopped flights to and from China in a bid to stop the spread of the deady coronavirus.

Sales consultant Vivian Zhang said more local customers would be greatly appreciated.

All airline links from Australia to China and from China to Australia have been suspended until further notice, as fear over the coronavirus spreads. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE

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“This shop is very popular with Chinese tourists so the lack of flights and the cancellation of Hainan Airlines is affecting us,” she said.

“This shop opened two years earlier than the Cairns Central store so it’s always been popular with locals.

“The last two weeks we should have seen many more Chinese customers than we did. For locals, it’s great to have a big international brand like this in the CBD and we have a lot of great items for gifts.”

Ms Zhang said while jewellery was popular with international customers, crystal figurines were snapped up by locals.

In pictures: Chinese New Year street parade

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Originally published as Coronavirus: How to help Cairns businesses through tough 2020