With changes to regional Victorian restrictions largely coinciding with the school holidays, Echuca Moama Accommodation Association president Grant Casbolt said positive signs were showing.
“The school holidays have been great for us,” he said.
“There have been plenty of people around the town and that's fantastic to see. It's having a really good impact on the town.
“And we are also seeing strong bookings into the future. Things aren't going gangbusters, but when you compare it to what we have seen in the past few months, it's a great result.”
Mr Casbolt said the opening of the river to regional Victoria in recent days was also having a positive impact.
“Opening that side of business up is always going to bring more people into town,” he said.
“Something like opening the river is a great thing for the whole town, and that's going to really assist in providers taking those first steps to recovering as a business.”
But while the news in Echuca is positive, the closure of the border continues to cause problems for NSW operators.
And though he is happy with the progress made so far, Mr Casbolt admits there is still a long way to go.
“It remains a challenge for our NSW operators,” he said.
“Until the border opens it's going to remain an issue, so for their recovery we need the NSW Government to open the border up.
“When you take into account how much business for the community comes out of Melbourne, things aren't perfect. But what we are seeing so far are steps in the right direction.
“It will be even better for us when the border opens and when those restrictions continue to come down, but things are definitely heading in the right direction.”
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