Broome is not closed for business. Offer us your feedback.

Written on the 4 January 2017

In a letter to the editor of the West Australian newspaper recently, a reader reported his negative experience of holidaying in Broome suggesting that Broome is closed for business during the wet season.

We want to be a thriving tourism destination and the business community is working hard to deliver the level of service and experience expected of Broome, and the Chamber is disappointed of Mr McCabe's experience during his few days in Broome over summer.

We're sure local tourism-related businesses would like to be in a position of opening 7 days a week during this time of year to provide a great experience to visitors and locals alike if the conditions were right.  However there are a number of challenges to being able to trade weekends and public holidays, in particular during this time of year.

These issues include:
1. Trading through the wet season when tourist and local community numbers are quite low meaning operational costs can't be mitigated through turnover 

2. Penalty rates for weekends and public holidays

3. Covering leave and rostering for owners and staff

4. Power costs with air conditioning in the extreme heat

Natural pheneomenon such as jellyfish in the water means swimming in the beach is not an option and the heat of being outdoors means people are seeking indoor experiences.

How do we overcome this reality?  We're keen to get feedback from our business community how we can overcome this perception so Broome can be seen to (and does) provide a value proposition to holiday-makers all year round

The Chamber with RFF are planning works on an all-encompassing professionally administrated website in collaboration with local business to promote opening hours and things to do in Chinatown as part of its remit to the revitalisation process.

Through this site could we keep record of closures to ensure they're staggered across likewise businesses so we can manage expectations, actively promote things to do and provide information to the public?

Could the community agree on a rethink of operational hours in Chinatown where we celebrate the balmy eveneings of Broome with later opening times complemented with late night shopping opportunities on certain nights of the week without increasing the overall hours of operation?  

A permanent stage for busking and live performances in Chinatown?

Be part of the solution and offer us your thoughts?

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