‘They will come back’

THE suspension of ski lifts at Mount Hotham and Falls Creek has dealt a further blow to local businesses and already struggling families.

For Bright’s Ben Dawson, who owns JD’s Ski Hire and Bright Ski Centre, the ski season is as good as “done and dusted”.

“Two or three months ago we didn’t even think we’d get a winter, so we’ve been planning our stock conservatively,” he said.

“It’s disappointing but we’ll rebound next year.”

The family-owned business has serviced the ski fields of Hotham, Dinner Plain, Falls Creek and Mount Buffalo since 1988 but Mr Dawson said it has never taken a hit quite like this.

“I remember the second year after we opened in Bright, it might have been 2006, there was a really bad winter. But this is different. It affects all businesses in the community in some way,” he said.

“The whole community and different businesses are going to struggle through this.

“It’s not easy for anyone right now.”

Bright and District Chamber of Commerce president Rupert Shaw said businesses will have no choice but to bounce back from the year that has been.

“It’s pretty obvious that it’s going to be a further blow to all the businesses in the area and especially on the mountain,” he said.

“We feel very sorry for the employees up on the mountain. A lot of them would be casual and their alternative of getting employment opportunities would be minimal now which means possibly some of them will be out of work until next season.

“A lot of the businesses don’t have an alternative to bouncing back.”

Mr Shaw said the “devastating” blow to local businesses, including those in Myrtleford and Mount Beauty, will take time to recover from.

“Nothing that attracts people to Bright has been changed or destroyed so all the reasons people come to the Alpine Shire still exist and will still be there when the current situation passes,” he said.

“We have to remain optimistic and there is plenty of support out there for business owners who are experiencing mental health problems because of this.”

Both resorts confirmed late last week that the ski fields would remain open for local snow-lovers but Mr Shaw said it might not be enough to get some businesses over the line.

“The local population is so small that it will barely bring revenue for businesses, we have 2300 people in Bright and a lot of those work in tourism,” he said.

“They need to be earning money to go and spend the day skiing so you’ve now got a population of locals who want to go up there but are under pressure because of the lack of tourists.

“It’s a really difficult situation.”

As regional Victoria continues to escape the brunt of a total lockdown, Mr Shaw said it is important now more than ever for locals to reach out for support, financially and mentally, if they need it.

“We live in a beautiful place and we aren’t going to be as busy so take the time to catch up with your friends and enjoy the free activities the Alpine towns provide,” he said.

“Walk or cycle up Mount Porepunkah or go up Buffalo, or just walk up Bogong, there are lots of things we can do in our backyard and we should celebrate the place we live in.

“They (tourists) will come back, it might just take a bit more time than we expected.

“We had the bushfires, first round of COVID, second round of COVID, lockdown in Melbourne and now the border is closed. It has been an interesting year so far and we need to make the most of a bad situation.”