School holidays to bring economic and tourism boost for the Macleay Valley

Local businesses have been gearing up for the influx of visitors over the past few weeks to ensure COVID-19 safety measures are in place.

Read more: Staying COVID-safe these school holidays

Kempsey Shire Council's Coordinator Economic Development and Tourism Marilyn Breen said businesses are expecting to remain busy up until Christmas.

"Businesses didn't have a great end to 2019 and then were hit with COVID at the beginning of this year," she said.

"Many of our accommodation businesses struggled until the long weekend in July and have slowly been increasing bookings, but the October school holidays are going to be a lifesaver.

"A number of accommodation businesses have said they're expecting to remain busy until the end of the year.

"They aren't anticipating a lull from now until Christmas."

Marilyn said council as been holding tourism workshops that focus on how best to promote the area, with most accommodation businesses indicating they are fully booked for the school holidays.

"Local motels and the holiday parks were averaging 85 to 90 per cent capacity and are now at 100 per cent," she said.

Cafe's and restaurants are also set to benefit from visitors to the Macleay over the next couple of weeks, however some restrictions remain in place for hospitality venues.

"It has been harder for the hospitality businesses because they aren't able to function at full capacity due to social distancing restrictions," Marilyn said.

"But business is looking good for them as well. Many venues have said they are pacing themselves because they also expect to be busy for a long time."

Macleay holiday parks, motels and hospitality venues are also ensuring they are following the current COVID-19 guidelines.

"COVID-19 safety plans have been in place and every business has now found what works best for them," Marilyn said.

"Because we get a lot of repeat visitors to the area and we are monitoring social distancing, we are sure people will follow the preventative measures to keep the community safe.

"We want to make this a smooth holiday period for everyone. Visitors need to ensure they are following restrictions and be aware of changes to how things are run such as needing to pre-book camp sites in National Parks."

Marilyn said not only will the school holidays be an economic and tourism boost for the Macleay, but a moral boost for locals as well.

"It's great for businesses to see there is still so much potential in our valley, but also for locals to experience what we have to offer once again.

"This will hopefully lead into a more positive next six months for the Kempsey Shire."