NSW Bushfires: Blue Mountains shop-owners liken economic fallout from bushfires to 1980s recession
Blue Mountains small-business operators desperately need word to get out that it’s safe to visit because local goodwill may not be enough to sustain them.
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Katoomba small-business operators are likening the economic fallout in the Blue Mountains from recent bushfires to the 1980s recession that crippled the national economy.
And they are apportioning a huge chunk of the blame on poor message handling when catastrophic fire danger was declared in greater Sydney in November.
Business owners are relying on locals to stay afloat as tourists keep away because of an enduring perception there’s a fire in the town itself.
The Great Western Highway up to Katoomba was never road-blocked during the recent fires either.
“If you don’t have local goodwill, then you aren’t selling to anyone right now,” CafeXpresso owner Angus Olsen lamented.
Mr Angus runs a cafe at the top of the Katoomba Station stairs and relies heavily on train foot traffic, as do many CBD shop owners.
So imagine their frustration on hearing via social media on Monday that a sign at Central Station — that’s since been taken down — was still telling train passengers not to travel to the mountains due to fires.
“From the day of the catastrophic fire announcement, trade went down,” Omnia owner Lynne Curan said.
She said the downturn was “far worse than Winmalee”, making reference to the 2013 fires that destroyed 194 homes in Winmalee and Yellow Rock including that of Ms Templeman, also present at a meeting at Gallery One88 with opposition deputy leader Richard Marles yesterday.
Ms Templeman is calling for a national campaign to bring people back to the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury, because “for the whole loop of businesses in Kurrajong to Mount Victoria and (eastwards) down the Great Western Highway business has just dried up.”
“It’s the first time ever our Saturdays are worse than in winter,” said True To The Bean waffle and coffee house owner Mel Jones whose sales have dipped 60-70 per cent.
“I had been entertaining having a day off a week but I can’t do that now,” Ms Jones said.
She was already working 11-hour days year-round before this.
Mr Olsen said the only difference between now and the 80s economic downturn is the interest rates.
“The Blue Mountains has always been a popular destination over the summer period and we are excited to encourage tourists back to experience the beauty of our region as part of a safe and memorable holiday,” Jason Cronshaw, president of the region’s peak tourism body Blue Mountains Tourism, said in a statement.
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service has meantime reopened sections of the Blue Mountains National Park including all lookouts, picnic areas and walking tracks from Katoomba to Wentworth Falls.