The stars aligned for Port Stephens businesses and tourism operators over a 'cracking' Queen's Birthday long weekend, which saw a huge influx of visitors equal to pre-COVID times.
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Holidaymakers from predominantly NSW flocked in their thousands to the Port, buoyed by the increase in coronavirus vaccinations, lured by Dine and Discover vouchers, attracted by the majestic whales and blessed with fine, sunny weather.
It was the double shot in the arm businesses had been hoping for, as they emerge from 16 months of uncertainty following the outbreak of the global pandemic and the growing number of people receiving the jab.
And provided the vaccination numbers continue to rise and the weather can remain relatively fine, operators are confident the strong long weekend numbers can continue into the July school holiday and winter periods.
There had been a surge in demand for the vaccine, according to Dr Damian Welbourne from the Raymond Terrace Family Practice, which operates a government COVID respiratory clinic, following the latest Victorian outbreak.
"We are regularly vaccinating more than 1000 people a week and as much as 1300 a week," he said. "There was a little hesitancy following reports of a second blood clot death, but the advice remains there is substantially more risk of people dying from COVID than from the vaccination."
Dr Welbourne said that the clinic was expected to receive the Pfizer vaccine "within a few weeks", which is recommended to people aged under 50.
He said wait times had reduced to just a few days and online bookings were recommended.
Around the Bay, meanwhile, businesses reported solid visitor numbers, despite the cancellation of the Bluewater Country Music Festival for the second year running, which annually attracts tens of thousands of visitors from across the nation.
Last year's event was cancelled due to the COVID crisis.
Destination Port Stephens chairman Andrew McDonald said that the Homegrown Markets along the Nelson Bay foreshore on Saturday had proved successful and that restaurants and attractions were well patronised.
"The fine weather made for a cracking weekend, which augurs well for the July school holidays," he said.
"Most of the visitors are Sydney or Hunter Valley based and we were surprised to have had only a few cancelations from parts of Victoria following its recent COVID outbreak."
Business Port Stephens president Leah Anderson said that tour operators had been ecstatic with the attendances and saw this as a good sign leading into the school holidays.
"The dine and discover vouchers have been popular and I know there were greatly used at the koala sanctuary."
For the Bay Booking Office, located on the Nelson Bay marina, the vouchers made up an estimated 70 per cent of sales across the weekend.
"We were fortunate to have good weather for whale watching, with many visitors cashing in their vouchers. We had reports that people were also out shopping and dining," said owners Lorraine and Stuart Edmond.
Imagine Cruises owner Frank Future said that the fine, sunny weather and the abundance of whales on their northern migration had attracted visitors in their thousands to sample many of the Port's alluring attractions.
Will Creedon, owner of Alloggio, which looks after hundreds of rental properties operating in Port Stephens, said that accommodation rates for the Queen's Birthday weekend had exceeded pre-COVID numbers.
"We were booked out. It was a tremendous weekend and world's apart from this time last year when there was still so much uncertainty with the pandemic and of course no vaccine," he said.
"We are finding that many people in NSW are playing it safe by holidaying in their own state... they are anxious about crossing the border in case there is an outbreak in either Queensland or Victoria and they get stuck there."
He said that Port Stephens was increasingly becoming a holiday destination of choice because it was an easy drive from Newcastle or Sydney and was accessible to people from the west.
It was a great selling weekend for the Port Stephens Artisan Collective located on the Nelson Bay marina.
"According to our figures, we had close to 600 people wonder through our doors, which is absolutely fantastic for a gallery," said artists Rhiannon Stocks and Peter Masters.
"What we are finding is that many visitors are more than just interested in the art works, but are curious about the art scene in Port Stephens.
"We are fortunate that we have a very vibrant art scene that is growing from strength to strength due to support of many people and organisations including Port Stephens Council and the Nelson Bay marina."
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