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Thousands of long weekend travellers, ready to break free from the confines of their homes after months of COVID restrictions, have hit the road and they are heading our way.
Most major holiday accommodation providers in the region are sold out or close to turning people away in what is the state's first real opportunity for people to travel since summer.
Rydges Port Macquarie said the weekend is going to be busy and staff are prepped and ready.
"We only have a couple of rooms available at Rydges and Sails is sold out. We will be fully staffed this weekend," revenue manager Davina Davies said.
"And things are looking good for the remainder of the month as well."
Macquarie Waters Boutique Apartment Hotel is sold out for the long weekend with travellers making their way from Newcastle, Sydney and the Central Coast for a three-day stay.
"It's a bit overwhelming. We've had no more 10 people at any time for months and this weekend we will have up to 170 people in the hotel every day," hotel manager Jessica Isaac said.
"This is definitely better than what we were doing before. We've doubled our occupancy and revenue from last month in the last week alone and the July school holidays are filling up too."
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Anyone visiting the area who has not made a booking at their favourite restaurant might be disappointed with local eateries already overwhelmed with table reservations from hungry holidaymakers from tonight (Friday).
"People have asked about restaurants and things to do. A lot are happy to just turn up and see what there is to do. People will struggle to find restaurants - they will all be absolutely slammed this weekend," Jessica added.
Port Macquarie Breakwall Holiday Park is at 70 per cent capacity with high demand for cabin sites. They are expecting last minute travellers to fill up the remaining spots at the popular riverside location.
Amy Pampling said they are "very, very busy".
"People are coming from all over NSW - anywhere from the Victorian border north," she said.
"We are as ready as we can be - that's all we can do. We've hit the ground running."
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