THE June long weekend generated interest in Bathurst from tourists, who took the opportunity to spend a few days in the regional city.
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Travel restrictions were lifted in NSW on June 1, allowing people to travel anywhere within the state for recreational purposes.
It was a good weekend for the NRMA Bathurst Panorama Holiday Park, with many people booking a spot to stay for the weekend.
"It's been fantastic. We were sold out for our cabins over the weekend and there was a lot of interest for our [camp] sites," manager Lauren Shipley said.
A lot of the guests were people from Sydney who wanted to go somewhere new for a quick holiday.
Ms Shipley said the atmosphere at the park had been great, with guests using the various facilities and kids riding around on their bikes.
"It's really good as a community to be able to welcome these people back out here who are supporting us," she said.
She hopes interest will continue to grow and said there has already been plenty of inquiries and bookings for the July school holidays.
It has been a difficult period for the Bathurst Motor Inn, but with the easing of restrictions things are slowly picking up.
Manager Dean Meredith said over the long weekend the motor inn was at 60 per cent capacity, which is much higher than has been seen since the pandemic started.
"A lot of people have come from Sydney, looking to get away for a couple of days," he said.
It is hoped this trend of the weekend getaway will continue and bring more people out to the region, especially as most events that would normally see the motor inn booked out have been cancelled.
"We're hoping that will happen to bring people here for the weekends," Mr Meredith said.
The easing of restrictions has also meant regular corporate guests have been able to get back to Bathurst.
Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays have been busier as a result, although occupancy has dropped from around 90 per cent over the weekdays down to between 30 and 35 per cent.
"I just hope it picks up," Mr Meredith said.
The long weekend also led to more activity at tourist destinations in Bathurst.
The National Motor Racing Museum, which reopened for the first time in months on June 3, saw quite a few visitors over the long weekend.
"It's been very good, very busy," a spokesperson said.
Sunday was the busiest day for the museum and most of the visitors had come from outside of the Bathurst region, primarily from Sydney and coastal areas.
