Third of Queenstown businesses may be gone by winter

Published: March 11, 2021, 4:27 a.m.

About a third of businesses in Queenstown's CBD expect to go down the gurgler before winter is out. A new survey by the town's chamber of commerce paints a grim picture of business confidence in the region. In the Queenstown Lakes region almost 70 percent of businesses are expecting a drop in profits. Focus in on tourism and hospitality and the numbers are even worse with 85 percent of business expecting things to get worse. Queenstown Chamber of Commerce boss Ruth Stokes talks to Lisa Owen.