Greater Port Macquarie Tourism Association president Janette Hyde expects a downturn as lot of the areas our visitors usually come from are in lockdown.

"I think we have to look to the future," she said.

Parts of regional NSW, including the Port Macquarie-Hastings and the Macleay, have recently been released from COVID lockdown.

Macquarie Waters Boutique Apartment Hotel manager Natalie Johnson said they would normally be sold out by now for the school holidays.

There are school holiday bookings in place but there is still availability.

"It's not a good time for tourism," Miss Johnson said.

The Clarence Street accommodation provider is offering exclusive prices for locals in a bid to attract the staycation market.

On a positive note, bookings in the inbox outstripped cancellations on Friday [September 10] at Macquarie Waters Boutique Apartment Hotel.

Long stays and corporate bookings over the next few weeks have been received from those able to travel.

The Med Crescent Head manager Jemma Young said business was a little bit slow.

The Med Crescent Head would usually be approaching capacity by this stage for the September school holidays.

The business has a handful of bookings locked in. Miss Young expects more last minute enquiries.

"People don't want to make a reservation, especially for advance bookings, when they don't know whether they will be able to get to that holiday destination," she said.

"The uncertainty is definitely toying on people's minds."

Miss Young said Crescent Head usually attracted a lot of people from northern NSW and Queensland travelling through to Sydney. Restrictions mean that is not an option at the moment.

"With Sydney being in lockdown, it does affect us," she said.

School holiday bookings are slim at Haven Waters Motel and Apartments as a large part of its tourism trade is usually drawn from Sydney, Newcastle and the Central Coast where the lockdown continues.

Haven Waters Motel and Apartments owner/manager Sandy Legge said those people able to travel were hesitant to make bookings.

"I don't think we will pick up until towards the end of October," she said.

Business at the North Haven motel and apartments has included guests staying long-term after they were displaced from their homes by the floods and others whose travel has been restricted by border closures.

It is a different situation at Reflections Holiday Parks.

Some 29 Reflections Holiday Parks across the state have reopened with almost 3000 bookings made since the Premier's announcement on Thursday [September 9] to end lockdown for parts of regional NSW.

Reflections Holiday Parks CEO Nick Baker said COVID had a huge impact on people's travel plans and they knew that people were absolutely wanting to take this opportunity to kick back and relax with their families once again in a natural, outdoor setting.

Reflections Holiday Parks' locations out of lockdown include Urunga, Tuncurry, Scotts Head, North Haven, Nambucca Heads, Mylestom, Hungry Head, Bonny Hills, Forster and Seal Rocks.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

Bookmark our website

Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters

You can support us with a subscription

Follow us on Twitter: @portmacnews

Follow us on Instagram: @portmacnews

Follow us on Google News