Reopening the international border from Monday may hobble any recovery in the domestic tourism sector if high-spending travellers choose foreign trips ahead of local holidays and overseas arrivals remain mostly locked out.

Even if apprehension about trekking offshore for the first time in nearly two years keeps many vacationers inside Australia, Luna Park Sydney managing director Peter Hearne told The Australian Financial Review he could not run the amusement park at full capacity because it cannot bridge its labour gap.