Footfall in Dublin city centre has continued to plummet as people work from home and exercise social distancing, according to new data from DublinTown.
Footfall in the area between Monday 16th March – Sunday 22nd March dropped by 65.8%. The trend throughout the week became more evident as businesses chose to shut their doors. The decline on Monday 16th March was 37.5%, by Saturday it was 77%. Footfall on St. Patrick’s day 2020 was down 71.7% on the level recorded on St. Patrick’s day 2019.
The data showed that streets with the high concentration of hospitality businesses were most impacted. South William Street recorded a reduction of 85% while Grafton Street saw a reduction of 75% in its footfall. This means approximately 200,000 less people visiting the city centre each day.
The majority of Dublin Town’s 35,000 retail and hospitality workers have already been temporarily laid off or are facing a very uncertain future.
Commenting on the data and calling on the Government for additional support, DublinTown CEO Richard Guiney said, "The current emergency is first and foremost a health crisis and the preserving life has to take precedence over all other considerations. However, we must also do everything in our power to ensure that the economy is ready to rebound rapidly once it is safe to do so."
He added, "Central to this is assisting employers to retain their skilled and talented workforce. This will require innovative schemes similar to some of those developed in other jurisdictions where employers and the state combine to provide a living wage for those forced out of work."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
