Large crowds from S'pore to JB over long weekend, but stores report less-than-expected bump in sales
There were fewer crowds than anticipated, according to some JB business owners.
The National Day long weekend saw a flood of visitors crossing the Singapore-Johor Causeway, but not all businesses reaped the benefits in Johor Bahru (JB). Long queues and traffic congestion at the causeway led to sluggish sales for some local stores, despite significant visitor numbers. A Singapore-based convenience store saw customer traffic increase by merely 10 per cent compared to the previous week, with no long queues or crowds.
Similar doldrums were experienced by Hiap Joo Bakery, a popular tourist stop famous for its banana cakes. While regular streams of customers were present, the store's sales were less lively than expected.
Business owners attributed this underwhelming sales performance to JB now offering more options for tourists during the long weekend. They might venture to shopping malls across the city, travel to popular towns such as Skudai, or even further to other cities and states. Meanwhile, some heritage sites in JB experienced a surge in visitors.
The Johor Bahru Chinese Heritage Museum saw a good number of tourists, most of them individual visitors, on Aug. 7 and 8. The same trend was observed in various Buddhist and Taoist temples in Batu Pahat, with many tourists arriving from Singapore to offer incense and prayers.
Written by urgent.news from Mothership's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
