Business outlooks on Cape Cod have improved since the spring, but a significant portion of employers are still reporting significant strain as the summer season approaches its close, according to preliminary survey results.
In an April survey conducted by the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, about 45 percent of respondents estimated they could only stay open for six months or less with current cash flows and reserves.
The second-round survey, which is ongoing, found pegged that rate at 35 percent, officials said during a Cape Cod Reopening Task Force conference call Thursday.
Retailers and restaurants have been hit hardest, home rentals and automobile sales have not been affected as sharply.
“As businesses are starting to reopen, there’s a little bit more of a positive feeling in the community about business operations and continuity,” said Kristy Senatori, executive director of the Cape Cod Commission that also ran the survey.
Organizations on the Cape are planning a new marketing campaign aimed at promoting a “second summer” in the region during the fall shoulder months, hoping to further stabilize local businesses amid the pandemic’s disruption.
Some data and anecdotes indicate that tourism is already popular on the Cape this fall, with the first two weeks of September “well booked” for lodging, according to Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce CEO Wendy Northcross.
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