The NSW Government announced earlier this week that regional Victorians who had not been in a COVID hotspot in the past 14 days would be allowed to go on the Murray River.
The decision opened the door for Echuca's paddlesteamers to resume operations, as well as a number of other river based businesses.
However, restrictions still do not allow those residents outside the border zone to enter NSW, leaving operators on the NSW side of the river unable to return to meaningful business.
Echuca Moama Tourism chief executive Kathryn Mackenzie said NSW businesses were still suffering.
“Our Moama operators have been left in the shadows,” she said.
“We desperately need the NSW Government to allow visitors to cross the border in order to allow the twin towns to begin to fully recover from this crisis.
“The Moama businesses are getting a tiny bit of business from those within the border bubble, but it's not enough.”
Ms Mackenzie said the early signs for operators following the opening of the river were strong.
“It's definitely been a really positive step forwards,” she said.
“We've had a lot of enquiries about our businesses, and we are seeing a really good flow on. Talking with businesses on High Street, they are getting a lot of business for families and those kind of groups.
“The family market was injecting a lot of dollars into the town, and that brings with it a positive feeling.
“The challenge for our hospitality in a way is the numbers of visitors are at times higher than they are able to handle, which is a fantastic problem to have.”
But while signs were that business was starting to turn around, Ms Mackenzie said more needed to be done.
“We need that help from the government to be able to unite our community,” she said.
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