There’s a saying from 14th-century mystic Meister Eckhart that if the only prayer we say is thank you, that is enough. As the mayor and business leaders who have been working hard together through the pandemic to support our business owners and managers, their employees and their families, we wanted to take the time to say a big thank you to Victorians for your support during the pandemic, and in particular during this past holiday season.
With Omicron upon us, we’re in for a period of more uncertainty, and likely more strain for our beloved businesses downtown and beyond, especially those that serve the visitor economy. We’ll get to that in a moment. But first, some success stories and our thanks to Victorians for believing in their city, their regional economy and their downtown.
Building on the success of the Downtown Victoria Business Association’s Downtown Delivers from the 2020 holiday season, this year, the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce extended the program across the region; delivery was free for purchases made through Chamber members across the region from Sooke to Sidney.
This allowed people to order from their favourite store in the region right to their doorstep, using local delivery companies. It’s just like shopping on Amazon, except that the money you spend stays in the local economy and supports local jobs and companies. Thank you for ordering local online.
Jeff Bray, the executive director of the DVBA, has had several conversations with businesses stating they have had their best November and December in years, and in some cases ever.
The lack of For Lease signs downtown is also a clear indication that with the support of so many people adopting shopping local, businesses were able to make it through the past 19 months, along with support from all levels of government.
We remain so impressed by the innovation of our small businesses and the loyal and loving customers who support them. Like the The Papery taking advantage of a recently vacated storefront to move to a bigger store on Fort Street, one that allows the space and light for that unique business to really shine. And the lineups at Crust Bakery again, just down the block from The Papery.
And many more stories like these that show how the downtown economy works like an ecosystem. You may be coming downtown to pick up a book or card, but you also stop in to buy a freshly baked loaf of bread or grab a drink or meal at one of Victoria’s many amazing restaurants.
While many businesses had record years, some are barely holding on. Downtown businesses have been impacted by the lack of workers returning to downtown offices.
Yet retail and hospitality pockets across the region saw a boost from people working from home and shopping and dining closer to home. Thank you all for shopping downtown, shopping local, and for keeping your favourite local businesses in business.
While many cities across the country have higher retail and office vacancy rates at this point in the pandemic, downtown Victoria is in relatively good shape.
This is thanks to the thousands of people from across the region as well as visitors from afar who continue to come downtown, love downtown and see a bright future for downtown. A healthy downtown in an indicator of a healthy regional economy. To all of you, our deepest thanks.
But Omicron is here and with it more uncertainty — we don’t know what the next few months hold or what 2022 has in store.
Our caution with respect to tourism — a key local economic driver — is that while visitors from Canada really buoyed our local economy during the past summer and we saw healthy hotel room occupancy compared with 2020, we can’t rely on domestic travel alone to sustain our local businesses over the long term.
In the meantime, just as so many Victorians did last year, consider planning a March break staycation at one of our fabulous local hotels. And if restaurants get shut down again for dining in, remember Takeout Tuesdays (or any day really!) And use local app Tutti for food delivery where possible. And woo your valentine with a locally purchased gift. And more.
Our thanks in advance to all for continuing to support, love and live local and for continuing to pull together as a community until the pandemic is firmly in the rear-view mirror.
Jeff Bray is executive director of the Downtown Victoria Business Association; Emilie de Rosenroll is CEO of the South Island Prosperity Partnership; Lisa Helps is Victoria’s mayor; Bill Lewis is president of the Victoria Hotel Association; Paul Nursey is CEO of Destination Greater Victoria; and Bruce Williams is CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce.
