Spending soars in Victoria’s regions, but sleepy CBD is holding state back

“The handbrake there is the Melbourne CBD,” Mr Saadie said.

“If you were to pull out the Melbourne CBD and look at [suburban] strip-shopping and community centres and so forth, that would be another two different stories.”

CBD shop owner Arthur Tsakalakis has felt the economic pain of the pandemic, with trade at his Collins Street business, Master Cobblers, down by 70 per cent on pre-pandemic levels. As the lack of commuter office workers hurt his business, Mr Tsakalakis sold his house to keep it afloat.

He said early to mid-January was usually a quiet time for the business, followed by an uptick in trade in the middle of the month trade as office workers returned from holidays.

“This year was pretty flat all the way through,” he said.

“The only time we’ve noticed a massive difference is when masks are not mandated and people came back to work, that seems to be the X-factor.

“I’m going to ride this year out, and if it’s not better, I’m going to shut down.”

But better times for the city and its tourist trade may be on the way, with Home Affairs Minster Karen Andrews confirming on Sunday that preparations were underway to lift the ban on overseas tourists entering Australia.

“We have been speaking with health professionals, we are getting ready to open as soon as we can,” the minister told ABC TV on Sunday morning.

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More than 3.3 million foreign tourists visited the state in the year before the pandemic, spending more than $9 billion here. Victoria Tourism Industry Council chief executive Felicia Mariani told The Age Melbourne’s economy would not truly recover behind closed international borders.

“Our businesses, whether they’re accommodation attractions, hospitality, cafes, retail, everything in our capital city has really suffered and suffered tremendously,” Ms Mariani said.

“So the sooner that we can get the international borders open, the sooner that we can actually really take some first steps on a full recovery, because we’ve really only had partial recovery.”

The state government said on Sunday that an expanded Melbourne International Comedy Festival, scheduled to be held in late March and April, would also give the city a much-needed economic boost.

“The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is more than just a good time – it delivers major benefits to businesses and helps support local jobs,” Tourism Minister Martin Pakula said.

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