Regional NSW is back: tourism operators rejoice as travel restrictions lift

Tourism operators are bracing for an influx of cooped-up Sydneysiders looking to head out on the open road, hit the beach or embark on a new adventure.

Paul Popescu, 29, and girlfriend Carly Faghy, 26, prepare to take a camel ride at Birubi Beach in Port Stephens now that regional NSW is re-opened for business. Picture: Liam Driver

Regional NSW is open for business, and bracing for an influx of cooped-up Sydneysiders looking to head out on the open road, hit the beach or embark on a new adventure entirely – such as a camel ride.

After four months of restrictions, travel between Sydney and the bush finally resumes on Monday, marking another step on the road map towards freedom.

Oakfield Ranch owner Rod Sansom, who runs camel tours along Birubi Beach in Port Stephens, north of Newcastle, said the Delta lockdown had prompted the most serious downturn he had seen in 20 years, and the lifting of travel restrictions had been the light at the end of the tunnel.

“It’s a big day, we’ve been really looking forward to it,” he said. “It’s been a long time; when Sydney first closed we went downhill from there, we were just about shot.

“The phone was dead in the middle of the shutdown, when Sydney was just staying home and watching Netflix, but for the last three weeks it’s been ringing off the hook.”

The business has begun to regain its footing in the past few weeks, thanks to tourists from the regions passing through, such as backpackers Paul Popescu, 29, and girlfriend Carly Faghy, 26, who stopped in to take in the sights from the back of a camel at the weekend.

The pair have watched regional NSW come to life again since the lockdown eased, and hope to be able to visit Sydney before crossing into SA and WA once interstate borders reopen.

“As backpackers we work and travel, but it feels like it’s been mostly work as you couldn’t travel,” Ms Faghy said.

“As soon as the lockdown was lifted we wanted to see the coast. It feels so good to get back on the road, we wanted to see lots of small coastal towns off the beaten track.”

Luke Parrott of Oakfield Ranch Camels, at Birubu Beach, Port Stephens, NSW. Picture: Liam Driver

Business NSW tourism manager Greg Binskin said the mood in the regions was buoyant as operators prepared to welcome city tourists to the regions again.

“The pent-up demand is there; Sydneysiders have been hanging out to get to regional areas,” he said. “They’ve been locked up long enough with a full wallet ready for lots of days at the beach and trips to the mountains.

But not everyone is happy.

Newcastle Deputy Lord Mayor Declan Clausen, along with nine other regional councils in the Hunter Joint Organisation, has expressed concern about reopening due to lagging vaccination rates in the regions, requesting a meeting with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet last week.

“During the pandemic vaccines were moved from Newcastle to Sydney in order to supply Sydney,” he said.

“It meant that Newcastle did not have the headstart so it has lagged behind.

“Many people in Newcastle and the Hunter are still waiting for their second dose of a vaccine.”

Mr Perrottet defended the decision to restart regional travel saying that vaccination rates had “substantially increased” in recent weeks, since the reopening of the regions - originally slated for 80 per cent vaccination - was pushed back.

“In fact, it far exceeded where we believed we would be when we extended it out to November 1,” he said.