The Greater East Aurora Chamber of Commerce (GEACC) is joining forces with The Buffalo Niagara Partnership and Visit Buffalo Niagara – as well as other chambers of commerce and other business advocacy groups- to assess the full economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses throughout our region.
This will be conducted through the launching of the WNY COVID-19 Business Impact Survey on Tuesday, April 14.
GEACC members should also be on a lookout for an email from Mower Research (noreply@qemailserver.com) with a link to the survey. If you do not receive an email by the end of business on April 14 and would like to participate, please request a survey.
The information gathered from the survey will be essential to better understanding how the public and private sectors can work together to address potential gaps in available resources now and during the inevitable economic recovery period that lies ahead.
“The Greater East Aurora Chamber of Commerce feels strongly that this survey and the responses we receive back from our members will be vital in helping the businesses in our community recover from the COVID-19 situation and assist them in growing stronger in facing future challenges,” said Gary Grote, GEACC Executive Director.
The survey will ask employers to weigh in on a variety of topics including lost revenue, workforce impacts, and their ability to operate remotely.
This survey represents an unprecedented coming together of strategic partners from both the public and private sectors, according to Buffalo Niagara Partnership President & CEO Dottie Gallagher.
“Now more than ever, real-world data and insights from the business community have the power to inform necessary decisions in both the public and private sectors. This has been an incredibly challenging time for our region’s employers,” she said. The survey will help guide the region in how to “to best assist businesses when our community can pivot to recovery,” she added.
COVID-19 has had a particular impact on the area’s tourism – affecting retail, restaurants, and hospitality businesses here in East Aurora and across WNY.
“Travel and tourism have become an integral part of the Buffalo economy, providing more than 32,000 jobs within Erie County and generating more than $ 1.8 billion annually in visitor spending. The unprecedented public health crisis we’re facing right now has ground travel to a halt and put the businesses and workers who rely on visitor spending in peril, endangering livelihoods and potentially undermining much of our collective progress,” explained Cindy Kincaide, Visit Buffalo Niagara’s Director of Industry Relations.
“The travel industry businesses that help define the Buffalo experience to our visitors and set our city apart – from boutique hotels to neighborhood coffee shops and pubs, independently owned restaurants and boutiques – simply cannot weather this storm on their own and that is why Visit Buffalo Niagara is pleased to join the Buffalo Niagara Partnership in the collaborative effort.”
For more information, please visit our webpage – WNY COVID-19 Business Impact Survey.