Alarming impact of Border closures on Murray Regional Tourism
Murray Regional Tourism, the peak cross border tourism organisation for the Murray region in NSW and Victoria plays a critical role in the visitor economy.
Prior to COVID-19 the region would welcome annually 6.5 million visitors across our river communities with around 2,500 tourism businesses providing fabulous experiences. Visitors spent nearly $2 billion in direct expenditure and enjoyed 10 million nights in the region. Over 18,000 people were employed in tourism related businesses and the second largest employer in the region.
Tourism operators have been savaged over the past year as a consequence of rolling Coronavirus restrictions compounded by the lengthy and sustained border shutdowns severely impacting the visitor economy.