The President of the Nadi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Ram Raju says businesses in Nadi have been going through some rough times where consumer spending has been low and less business activity has also been noted during Christmas, New Year and school holiday period compared to previous years.
However, Dr. Raju says business owners in Nadi have been a bit resilient and have accepted the challenge to go through the rough period without closing their shops or laying off staff.
Dr. Raju says they had a business forum last Friday and have drawn up a plan to be prepared for the worst as business activity could get seriously affected with the impending coronavirus or Covid19 issue.
He says everyone needs to be aware in relation to the decline of tourist numbers from markets in Asia, particularly Hong Kong and Singapore.
A number of businesses in Nadi Town specialise in handicrafts that are directly targetted towards tourists.
Dr. Raju says the 25 percent tax on the tourist dollar also needs to be looked at and the government needs to look into this.
