Chamber reports strong Christmas trade

The Peninsula Chamber of Commerce has reported strong trade over the Christmas break.

"Our members are reporting great figures over the Christmas break with high visitor numbers and what appears to be more spendable income across the board", said Chamber president Mr Matthew Wales.

"There are a lot more people spending holidays locally, taking advantage of our great beaches, retail centres and local attractions, which is translating into more dollars being spent on the Peninsula

"This is entirely in line with recent tourism figures which shows strong growth in the local market which is good news for local retailers."

Mr Wales said recent hot weather and great beach conditions had further added to the retail result.

"There is no doubt that the re-commencement of the Palm Beach ferry service has helped retailing, especially in the Ettalong Beach village centre," he said.

"The cafe-restaurant sector of the business community has performed particularly well this Christmas with many restaurants booked out and street cafes at capacity.

"While this has been a great Christmas trading period so far, the Chamber is mindful of the challenges ahead in 2019 especially in relation to ongoing maintenance and upgrades of the Peninsula town and village centres.

"The Chamber will continue its lobbying over the coming 12 months for improvements to street-cleaning operations and the review of the Woy Woy town centre planning and management controls."

SOURCE:

Media release, 10 Jan 2019

Matthew Wales, Peninsula Chamber of Commerce