Tourists heading to Margaret River are being urged to be patient as businesses scramble to play catch-up after a tough 2020.
The town's main street is due to reopen today, after a $9 million upgrade to the town's main street that traders say had blocked access and killed off foot traffic for months.
The Main Street project was fast-tracked during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year's holiday period is expected to be super busy, and traders are anxious amid worker shortages and inexperienced staff.
Tough year
Local businesswoman Atlanta Keys has run her cafe for 21 years, and she said it had been her toughest year yet.
"I've never experienced this sort of hardship," Ms Keys said.
She said problems caused by COVID-19 had been compounded by Main Street being turned into a construction site, with constant dust and noise, and customers unable to access her shop easily.
"I haven't had enough work to employ two people a day, because it's so slow … and then we're going to open and get slammed for the busiest time of the year, for two weeks," she said.
Needed to be done
Augusta-Margaret River shire president Ian Earl said he understood doing the work in one hit had been tough for businesses, but the works were necessary.
"Once we made that decision we were going to compress it, we couldn't go back. Once we crack the egg, you can't put it back together again, you have to carry on and finish the job," he said.
"The next challenge will be probably a huge influx of people coming down here and limited resources to have enough people to help, in shops and accommodation, and as cleaners — that's a real problem."
Business needs to pick up soon
Mel Rose D'Ath owns two businesses in the centre of Margaret River.
She said 2020 had been the death knell for some businesses, with 17 empty shops at one stage, though new shops had since opened.
Ms D'Ath urged people to be patient with new staff.
"Given the short lead time that we're going to have, from when it's been very quiet to very busy, and not having the capital to have staff or train them … it's going to be quite the predicament," she said.
"You might have someone where it's their first day … or they just haven't had enough people to be full bottle on everything.
"So be OK with having to wait a minute or two, so we can find our feet after this year."
