A survey by Destination Kiama of a sample of accommodation operators has shown that overall they have coped well with what the year has thrown at them.

When asked if the pandemic had affected their business negatively, 63 per cent replied a little or not at all, 15 per cent said moderately and only 22 per cent said it had affected them a great deal.

“I wasn’t surprised by the results,” says the Acting Manager of Destination Kiama, Megan Hutchison, who has also been Council’s Economic Development Manager for a number of years.

“By and large, with overseas and interstate being off limits, people have been keen to visit.

“I’ve seen other statistics that show our visitor economy is looking pretty good.”

While 67 per cent of operators reported they had cancellations due to the Northern Beaches lockdown, and 80 per cent had cancellations due to the Victorian lockdown, 72 per cent of operators said they had been able to refill these cancellations.

“The most positive aspect was that 100 per cent of respondents felt positive that business would recover in the long term,” says Ms Hutchison.

“There were many positive comments, such as that ‘business had never been busier and occupancy is almost at 100 per cent’.”

With long queues of traffic in Collins and Terralong Streets and Gerringong buzzing again, Ms Hutchison is looking forward to seeing the spending that has happened here over the holiday period, via Council’s subscription to Spendmapp.

“We won’t get the December/January figures until April, but I think they will show a booming visitor economy.”

For the future, she reports enquiries for weddings and events are flooding into The Pavilion, with its size a big attraction