Tourist shops lose out
Owner blames guides
A SOUVENIR store owner says tour guides are steering overseas tourists away from Cairns-owned businesses in favour of foreign-owned.
Far North Frontier shop owner Sun Kim said the practice was leading to the closure of some local shops, including one of his own.
He said tour companies were keeping international dollars out of local pockets.
Mr Kim said tour guides for international visitors had particular foreign-owned stores they had to take visitors to.
“I have two shops at Orchid Plaza, one is on the Lake St side and one is on the Abbott St side,” he said.
“Many times Chinese tourists come into my shop to look, but their tour guides tell them to follow them out of the shop.
“This happens every day and every night. I’m upset every day.”
Having Chinese customers pulled from his shop has left Mr Kim no choice but to close his Lake St store, which he has owned since 2009, next month.
He’s just one of the 41 per cent of Australian retailers who named foreign-owned brick and mortar stores as their biggest competition, according to new ANZ data. Accounting firm SV Partners executive director David Stimpson said Cairns had a more stable business climate than Brisbane, but retailers should remain “cautiously optimistic”, as 97 businesses ran the risk of collapsing this year.
“Our overall analysis indicates the majority of local traders have cause to be cautiously optimistic,” he said.
“Local businesses should look to improve their financial positions by developing effective cash-management strategies, minimising costs and ensuring they have the right capital structure.”
Food and accommodation services and public administration are the two other services with the highest risk of collapse in Cairns. The economic risk to these industries is in line with nationwide trends.