Cairns Chamber of Commerce | Predictions Come To Fruition
CityLife Business
Cairns Chamber of Commerce
Predictions Come To Fruition
Patricia O’Neill
: (07) 4031 1838
: info@cairnschamber.com.au
Chief Executive Officer
Cairns Chamber of Commerce
I am pleased to see that predictions for a strong Easter for small businesses came to fruition and continued beyond Easter.
Some businesses have even quoted better than pre-Covid numbers in terms of revenue – they made more money this Easter than what they did in 2019.
There was a great deal of excitement in Cairns, Palm Cove and Port Douglas during the recent Ironman event.
We would like to congratulate Cairns Regional Council on accelerating the completion of the dining precinct in time for the event.
The Council ensured that our “shop front” resembled that of an international holiday destination for the arrival of visitors to our city, not just the athletes, but the entourage they brought with them.
The dining precinct has catapulted Cairns into being a five-star destination to complement the five-star accommodation that now sits within the CBD.
We enjoyed a massive injection of Australian holiday makers earlier this year.
Sadly many of our experiences rely heavily on international tourists, therefore as locals let’s make every attempt to promote these to visiting tourists, friends and family whenever possible.
Our advocacy on the easing of restrictions with the Chief Health Officer and the Queensland Government on relaxing some of these restrictions, will continue to be constant to ensure that businesses survive. Whilst doing this we will never give up on pushing our message to keep your dollars in Cairns and support local.
People need to stop and think before they spend money, to ensure that it is supporting the profits of Cairns businesses.
The month of May was a celebration of small business, an initiative of the Queensland Government, where the theme was ‘Bounce Back Better’.
The Cairns Chamber of Commerce conducted several initiatives, including networking and practical workshops to assist small businesses in topics such as procurement, tax planning, marketing and exporting.
Through the events that we held, we were able to connect a lot of small businesses with opportunities to do more business locally, and overall, it was an outstanding success.
The Honorable Craig Crawford MP invested time to meet and share a ministerial update as well as provide valuable information to really assist some businesses to move forward with new initiatives.
Sustainability in business is more important now than ever as we strive towards becoming a Smart Green economy as well as making the all−important positive changes to our bottom line. It was a pleasure to recognise and celebrate some of our local businesses during our 12th Ecobiz leadership forum.
This successful Chamber of Commerce initiative exists to provide direct support and guidance to businesses on how to integrate efficient, sustainable business practices, to save money and build resistance.
These changes have resulted in significant savings across many areas, including energy, waste and water.
Businesses receive a star partner status if they achieve a 10 percent reduction in energy, water and/or waste usage over a 12-month period, or if deemed to be implementing industry business practice by our ecoBiz consultants.
A few businesses recognised as star partners include Cardzilla, The Yoga School and Halpin Partners.
Finally, we are delighted to announce that the Business Excellence (BEX) awards are going ahead this year in celebration of excellence in business, with the gala ball and awards ceremony to be held on Friday, October 15.
The business community is also looking forward to the Chamber of Commerce golf day in September.
We are looking for sponsors for both of these events, so please let us know at the Chamber of Commerce if you would like to be involved as sponsorships are limited.
Until next time, stay safe and keep it in Cairns.
