China Overseas Press, February 25th. According to the WeChat public account of New Zealand Skyway.com, with the decision of the New Zealand cabinet on February 24 to continue to extend the travel ban on mainland China, Chinese tourists, students and work permit holders have been in a row for 22 consecutive years. It is impossible to enter New Zealand.
Reporters have conducted in-depth investigations on the impact of the ban on the education industry, but the renewal of the travel ban has also caused a huge blow to the local Chinese catering industry in New Zealand. The turnover of some restaurants has dropped by 50%, and some have even dropped. Had to choose to go out of business temporarily.
"Right after opening, we encountered a travel ban"
The reporter visited this restaurant in Lorne St, Auckland, New Zealand. The restaurant just opened on February 2 this year, and the same day the New Zealand government issued a travel ban.
The restaurant owner Iori was helpless, but he could only calmly accept it.
He said: "The ban definitely has an impact on business. The largest source of customers in City is international students, especially our tea restaurants, which are fast food and light meals. Now students ca n’t come back. This part of the business will be greatly reduced. . "
Previously, Iori had his own judgment on the epidemic situation. He had already reserved an adjustment period for the impact of the epidemic situation. But with the extension of the travel ban, the situation has become somewhat unexpected. "I originally expected that people would start to come back one after another in mid-to-late February. I reserved an adjustment period of almost two weeks, but based on this situation, I estimate that I can slowly recover after mid-March." He says.
Since it opened on the day of the ban, Iori had no way of comparing how much the turnover had fallen, but he estimated that the lost turnover was about one-third to half.
He believes: "The epidemic and the ban can be viewed separately. The epidemic may last for a long time, but the ban will not. If the ban persists, not only our restaurants will bring down the whole of New Zealand. Now we are promoting takeaway services, but Not everything is suitable for take-out, and the quality of take-out is not guaranteed, and now it is just enough to protect the capital. There are 7 or 8 employees in the store. In this way, one day's labor will cost more than NZ $ 1,000. Also calculate The rent and the ingredients are also expensive. The taste of City guests is a bit trickier, so our ingredients are fresh and not frozen. I do n’t know how long they can last. It ’s really difficult. ”
When talking about what the government hopes to do, Iori said frankly: "I don't want the government to subsidize, just tax exemption. The government should consider the impact of the ban on SMEs. Is it really necessary to imitate Australia? To impose a ban? "
"Consumers' mentality has been greatly affected, and I hope the government can send a positive signal."
Albany's hot pot restaurant “Pepper City Gate” on Auckland ’s north shore has also been affected by travel bans. The manager of the store, Meiling, said its overall turnover fell by at least 30%.
"In addition to the travel bans preventing students from coming back, the epidemic has made everyone frightened, and many people are reluctant to come out to eat. We cook hot pots, and other restaurants can take out packages, but our limitations are relatively large. After all, Well, everyone prefers to eat in the store. We used to open at noon, but now to save labor costs, we only open at night. "He said.
Meiling also gave very intuitive booking data. She said, "We had at least a dozen tables in the previous weekend, but only 3 tables were booked this weekend."
In addition, Meiling said that consumers' mentality has also greatly affected hot pot restaurants.
He said: "When the epidemic first came out, there were many rumors saying that suspected cases appeared on the North Shore. As soon as the rumors came out, our sales plummeted. Although we know it is a rumor, we can understand the mindset of consumers. After all, To protect ourselves, it is better to be credible than to be credible. In order to make our customers no longer worry, we disinfect in the store every day and provide hand sanitizers to our customers. "
Meiling hopes that the government can take action. In addition to tax relief, it also hopes that the government can do some comforting things.
He said that it feels that the current government has done nothing except the travel ban, and hopes that the government can send some positive signals to strengthen the confidence of local residents.
"The turnover has fallen by 60%, the boss is trapped in the country and can only be closed first"
The Chengdu-style restaurant "Yulin Linwei" in Dominion was hit hard by the epidemic and had to choose to temporarily suspend business in early February.
Chef Lai, the chef in the store, told reporters: "After the epidemic broke out, our sales dropped by 60%. After the epidemic came out, everyone avoided coming together and no one came to eat. We couldn't afford it. I chose to temporarily suspend business. When will it open again? You have to wait until the epidemic is over. The boss is now stuck in China because of the travel ban. "
Master Lai was very helpless about the epidemic. He said, "We have just started operations in December 2019. It is still a new store. The customer ’s freshness has not yet passed, and the epidemic has come. Now we Wages have also stopped being paid and will be re-opened in the future.
Master Lai said that the current pressure is really too great, mainly from rent, and he very much hopes that the government can help and help with rent. The pressure is really too great, and we will be able to support it for another 2-3 months at most.
The store is not without considering opening a take-out business, but Master Lai said: "Because we are a new store, there is no fixed customer source, and the customer's awareness of us is not high, so the amount of take-out cannot support our business. s expenses."
New Zealand Catering and Culinary Association: "People's panic is a deadly factor leading to the status of the restaurant industry"
The New Zealand Catering and Cooking Association, which has more than 600 member units, said the chairman of the association, chairman of the Zene Catering Group, Lin Chuan. At present, there is a lot of negative information about the epidemic, but New Zealand is actually very safe. Local Kiwi consumers are still active, and the outbreak seems to have no effect on them. In fact, the panic in everyone's heart does not mean that they are unwilling to go out to eat. Everyone is also trembling. In fact, the mentality of panic is the deadliest.
He said: "Because of the travel ban and self-segregation, I estimate that the entire industry has lost 20,000 visitors. 20,000 people have hit the entire New Zealand catering industry quite a bit. So many people are missing, many Businesses will be affected. Some restaurants choose to go out of business temporarily, and I have heard of some cases that have been completely closed. "
Lin Chuan said: "In general, everyone is tightening their belts and carrying them. But I think that after a week or two, those who are self-isolated may return to the market after the isolation period, and some customers will Returning, the rice is still going to be eaten. It's been a long time. "
In addition, Lin Chuan is still trying to communicate with the government, but the government has not paid enough attention to the catering industry alone.
He said: "In terms of the size of the association, even if we have 600 businesses and each business employs 7 to 8 people, about 4,000 people's jobs and income will be affected by the epidemic. We have also tried to communicate with the government, but The government has n’t paid much attention to us at the moment. In addition to communicating with the government, we will also provide commercial suggestions for restaurants. There is not much we can do. I hope everyone can take this time and it should get better. of."
Lin Chuan hopes that the public will not be overly panicked. "I hope that the public will have sufficient understanding of the policy from their hearts to dispel panic about the epidemic situation. I hope to see more positive information and encourage everyone to consume." He said.
The government has introduced tax relief policies
On February 14, the New Zealand Taxation Authority has introduced a series of tax relief policies to help businesses affected by the outbreak.
A document on the official website of the tax office said: "People who have been affected by the decline of the business due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic can receive tax relief and income assistance. We will provide a variety of help methods based on your situation."
Currently, the Inland Revenue Department provides the following assistance:
Withholding tax revaluation
If the situation of the enterprise changes due to the epidemic situation, the enterprise can reassess the withholding tax. If the withholding tax has been overpaid, the tax bureau can arrange an early tax refund.
2. If you cannot pay taxes
If it is difficult for the enterprise to pay taxes due to the impact of the epidemic, the tax bureau may negotiate with the enterprise to set up instalments or reduce or exempt some taxes.
3. Deferred tax reporting and payment
Due to the impact of the epidemic situation, the tax bureau will delay the filing date of income tax. The filing date of GST and PAYE Returns cannot be postponed, but the enterprise can negotiate with the tax bureau on the filing date of income tax and can exempt some fines.