Coronavirus Gold Coast: Business confidence collapses as COVID-19 downturn bites

A new survey has revealed just how badly COVID-19 has hit Gold Coast businesses as confidence falls to new lows.

BUSINESS confidence on the Gold Coast has collapsed as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, a new survey reveals.

The Pulse poll, compiled the Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce and CCIQ, shows 75 per cent of surveyed businesses reported weaker turnover during the March quarter, while just 11 per cent had stronger sales.

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More than half saw their turnover fall by more than 50 per cent.

Of those surveyed, 88 per cent believed further downturns in business were likely as result of the ongoing pandemic.

Chamber president Martin Hall said the Gold Coast economy had a significant reliance on service-related industries, the most valuable of which include tourism, construction, and retail trade. 

Martin Hall. Picture: Richard Gosling

“Businesses across the Gold Coast region have been particularly impacted because of the strong linkage between service-based industries and tourism,’’ he said

“With there still being little said about when ‘non-essential’ businesses can return to normal, small and medium-sized enterprises are pessimistic about the future performance of the state and national economy.”