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BRANSON NEWS: BRANSON, MO. — Branson now has a task force focused on restarting the local economy. It’s uncertain exactly when tourism will bounce back in the Ozarks, but the local business community wants to be ready for when it does.
“Everybody is staying home right now,” Dick’s 5 and 10 Owner Steve Hartley said.
Hartley is just one business owner who is looking forward to safely reopening.
“People are tired of being cooped up in their homes,” Hartley said. “They’re ready to get out and have some fun when the time is right.”
When that “right” time comes, local business leaders want Branson to be ready.
“It’s really about Branson taking the necessary steps to make sure we are protecting our guests and our employees as we look toward the future,” Branson Chamber of commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau Jeff Seifried said.
The Chamber and CVB has formed as task force to plan for an economic revitalization of Branson.
“As the state of Missouri loosens up its regulations and Branson loosens its regulations, that we can open,” Seifried said.
He says the city likely will not restart all at once.
“There’d be a first wave of retail opening back up, then you’d have restaurants opening back up,” Seifried said.
Plus, it likely won’t seem as if nothing has changed.
“In our store, we are for sure only going to allow so many people in the store at one time,” Hartley said.
The multi-billion dollar tourism industry will certainly get a late start this season.
“If I had a hope and dream here, it would be that sometime the end of May, we would be seeing staggered openings,” Seifried said.
In the meantime, Branson businesses are planning for a quick and safe recovery.
“Our safe is ready to go, but we want to do this the right way, err on the side of caution, and make sure its the right time when we do open up,” Hartley said.
The task force will be working with the Branson business community to help them follow re-opening guidelines that could be put into place, like limiting the number of people inside or extra cleaning measures.
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