COVID cancellations lead to another lean summer for South Coast tourism providers

Carmen Risby says holiday park guests are taking a cautious approach this summer. (ABC South East NSW: Keira Proust)

Accommodation providers from popular tourist destinations on the NSW South Coast say cancellations are skyrocketing and visitors are keeping to themselves.

With more than one million Australians now having had COVID businesses relying on summer trade are doing it tough due to isolation requirements for staff and customers.

Tathra Beachside managing director Carmen Risby said the holiday park was dealing with cancellations every day.

"We are getting people packing up in the middle of the night because somebody had a symptom on their campsite," she said.

Campground facilities at the Tathra Beachside holiday park are quieter than usual this year as COVID-19 surges across NSW. (ABC South East NSW: Keira Proust)

It is a familiar story — as Greater Sydney and the ACT went into lockdown last year, a wave of cancellations were felt by businesses in popular tourism destinations like the Snowy Mountains.

"We already knew that we weren't going to be making much money this year because we were looking after people who had cancelled a year prior," Ms Risby said.

Many visitors to the Far South Coast are keeping to themselves these summer holidays. (ABC South East NSW: Keira Proust)

CHOICE travel expert Jodi Bird said while most businesses had improved their cancellation policies in recent months, there was still some confusion among customers as to whether they were entitled to a credit or refund.

"We're not seeing it to the same extent as we did [during lockdown], but there are still people struggling with what to do," he said.

"It's always a very unique circumstance where you might have COVID or you might have to isolate, whereas before there was just a blanket [travel] ban."

Jodi Bird says there is still some confusion surrounding COVID cancellations. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)

'A bit of fear'

Despite hundreds of cancellations ahead of Christmas, Tathra Beachside is nearly full — but Ms Risby said you would not know 500 people were staying at the park.

"It's [usually] about making connections and having lots of fun or meeting new people," she said.

"But this year has not been like that.

Ms Risby said the caution around COVID-19 was impacting local businesses, which were seeing a lot less foot traffic than usual.

"They're going out to dinner much less, they're going out to coffees much less," she said.

"People are holidaying with a bit of fear in the back of their mind."

Businesses in popular tourist destinations like Tathra are experiencing a quieter season than usual. (ABC South East NSW: Keira Proust)

Business burnout

Another factor causing stress among businesses are the staff shortages being felt across Australia.

Australian Regional Tourism chair Coralie Bell, from the Shoalhaven, said the impact on businesses was worrying, particularly in regional areas.

"What we're seeing is that operators are getting burnt out and pretty exhausted," she said.

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