There’s big trouble in little China as coronavirus hits tourist sales

Businesses in Sydney’s Chinatown have been devastated by the coronavirus, with masks the only things guaranteed to sell.

Chinese couple Guang and Aida Yang are struggling to keep their Sydney Chinatown business afloat amid the coronavirus. Picture: Jane Dempster

Businesses in Sydney’s Chinatown have been devastated by the coronavirus and travel ban, with masks the only things still selling.

In much of Sydney, business carries on as usual, empty trams, crammed trains, clogged roads and unmasked businessmen walking the streets

But for Guang Yang and his wife, Aida, if things don’t change soon their 11-year Australian dream will be over.

With 80-90 per cent of their sales coming from Chinese tourists and students, the travel ban has shrunk sales volumes.

Tuesday’s takings at Sydney Gift World were meagre, with only $400 taken by late afternoon, way down on normal sales of $3000.

“I can’t even pay my rent. If we don’t have any good income we can only last three months,” Mr Yang said. “If things go on, we are thinking about going back to China.”

Mr Yang said the cancelling of the Sydney Lunar New Year festival, coupled with the downturn in visitors, was driving his business to the wall.

“Every day in Chinese New Year our sales can be $30-40k,” the 33-year-old said. “December, Jan­uary, February are the only months we can make good money.”

Shelves groaned under jars of lanolin sheep’s oil and Manuka honey, hot buys that would typic­ally fly out the door, while milk powder boxes remained unopened. The only thing any ­shoppers were interested in were face masks, for both children and adults, which Mr Yang said were now hard to source as distributors imposed restrictions on orders.

“We don’t make much money on them, we sell expensive but we have to buy expensive,” he said.

“We’ve been struggling for four months, because of the fires and now this.”

Pointing to the restaurant across the road, Mr Yang said the crisis was biting with business across the shopping precinct way down. “Their rent is $20,000 a month,” he said “how can they pay rent if they are empty?”

He said his landlord, who is Chinese, had been understanding and had discounted the rent for the next three months. “But my friend, his landlord is Australian and he said, ‘you must pay, if you can’t pay then go’.”

Mr Yang said he thought the outbreak and disruption of supply from Australia to China would have long-running ramifications.

He said without access to Australian milk powder many parents had already switched over to Chin­ese alternatives, something he said would affect business for the next two to three years.

“My mother is in China and she told me that the Chinese news doesn’t encourage Australia any more,” he said.

“This country doesn’t want China. If (the Chinese) don’t come, then our business is dead.”