June long weekend aids post COVID recovery in Port Stephens

And while the bright, sunny days were enticing enough to attract many visitors to the area, the cold temperatures, blustery winds and large sea swells kept many whale watching, boating and fishing adventures to a minimum.

Destination Port Stephens CEO Eileen Gilliland said that accommodation bookings were strong during the June Queen's Birthday weekend, traditionally one of the Port's busiest times for tourism.

"We had reports of strong visitations at dining out venues, shopping, visiting attractions and taking tours - all of which contribute to our visitor economy which is estimated to generate $705 million a year in visitor expenditure," Ms Gilliland said.

"And with the opening of borders around the world, Port Stephens is now starting to see the return of international visitors primarily from SE Asia, the UK and Europe which will contribute to year-round visitations.

"In May, DPS attended Tourism Australia's largest annual international travel trade event, Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE), in Sydney meeting with over 75 buyers, as well as hosted more than 50 international buyers on familiarisation tours to experience Port Stephens with the aim to increase inclusion in international travel packages sold to consumers overseas."

However, there was a downside on a weekend where historically the Port's major whale and dolphin cruise tour operators would trade well, tracking the large number of whales on their northern migration.

Imagine Cruises operator Frank Future said that he had to cancel all tours over the long weekend due to the conditions, including 5m swells.

"Unfortunately, the high seas and cold temperatures spoiled the party. It's disappointing that we had to cancel but we had to put patrons' safety first ... we don't have the big sized boats that Moonshadow has," he said.

"We are hoping that we get calmer weather conditions during the upcoming July school holidays and again in September to capture the whales and their bubs on their return journey."

Moonshadow-TQC Cruises was one of the only operators that was able to take visitors out on the water across the weekend due to the large size of their vessels being equipped to handle hazardous surf conditions.

Janene Rees, Moonshadow's business development manager, said it had been "great" to see its vessels full again after the past two COVID-affected years. She added that it was also positive to see international visitors back in Port Stephens again.

"We have some great visitation coming through from the UK, Europe and Singapore," she said. "It's really nice to see those markets making a comeback after a dismal two years"

Bay Booking Office owner Lorraine Edmond said that the sunshine over the three-day weekend had enabled many visitors to enjoy the land based activities, bushwalking and eateries.

"It was unfortunate that the high swells made whale watching difficult, but the sun ensured many tourists were out and about enjoying the sparkling wintry days. There were many families with school-age children and couples looking for a break."

Nelson Bay Pie Lab owner Melissa Threlfo said that while the Bay was busy with visitors, pies were not selling like hot cakes.

"Business was constant without being overrun ... I don't believe it was as busy as last year's June long weekend."

Meanwhile, it was a pleasant opening for the Bay's newest entertainment venue, The Tequila Lounge, situated adjacent to Lime Mexican in the Broughton's at the Bay at the d'Albora Marinas precinct.

It was a great start for the new operators of a venue that had been closed since the emergence of the COVID pandemic more than two years ago.

"The vision for the space was to have three distinct operating functions" said operations manager Steph Tully.

"We want to maximise the fantastic location while keeping the familiarity of Lime Mexican for our guests, with the menu and atmosphere.

"Broughton's at the Bay will continue to hosts weddings and events, with the addition of The Tequila Lounge showcasing live music nights to encourage a new demographic of guests seeking to find some exciting music acts in the region."

A June long weekend regular, the Bay Bootscooters, were as popular as ever wowing the crowds on a sunny Monday at the marina.

Mel Smith said that more than 140 line dancers from Sydney, Central Coast, Newcastle and Port Macquarie joined the Nelson Bay group for four days of dancing, entertainment and friendship.

"We kicked off with a karaoke night at Wests Diggers on Friday night and followed with two full days of line dancing at the same venue and finished with a performance at the Nelson Bay marina on Monday," said Ms Smith.

"It was a fantastic four days of line dancing and so nice to return to the Wests club after two years of Covid restrictions.

"We want to thank the club for their support, the DJs, our amazing committee who did a fantastic job decorating the room and the members from Country Fun, Coastal, Holiday Coast, Instep, Kickin, Mountain Girls, Robyn Ramsay's."

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