A Dubbo retailer of more than two decades is optimistic the city's economy will gear up again in the next year on the back of travellers looking to domestic destinations amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
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Chris Seton predicts Dubbo is "going to benefit more than a lot of places" as bans remain on international trips and people explore Australia instead.
The co-owner of ARB Dubbo, which fits out four-wheel drive vehicles, said once restrictions were eased and people started to travel around Australia, the economy was "going to pick up very quickly out here, especially in the country areas".
"I think we've got another wave of business to come, and we're going to be riding it over the next 12 months, because people can't travel around Australia unless they're driving a four-wheel drive," Mr Seton said.
"And I think Dubbo's going to benefit more than a lot of places are, because they're all going to come out here to have a look at things because they can't fly overseas.
"The money's going to be spent within Australia, which is a really good thing, and it's going to be spent in our businesses, which is more important."
The money's going to be spent within Australia, which is a really good thing, and it's going to be spent in our businesses, which is more important.
- ARB Dubbo owner Chris Seton
NSW is lifting regional travel restrictions on Monday.
It's seen as an important step towards economic recovery after the pandemic shutdown, decimating many businesses, with hospitality, gyms and beauty salons among the hardest hit sectors.
Mr Seton, who also owns ARB Wagga, said the stores in both cities had weathered COVID-19 fairly well.
"It scared us all initially in business because we thought everything's going to stop," he said.
"But we've found... it's made us tighten our belts up, made us look at our business a bit harder, we've put processes into place to keep the whole thing going properly, setting out the social distancing."
Mr Seton has company in his outlook.
Dr Clifford Lewis of Charles Sturt University's School of Management and Marketing is also giving cause for optimism.
He forecast in the short-term, domestic tourism would rise, as people seek to reconnect with family and friends they had not seen during lockdown, and escape their surroundings.
A likely beneficiary of this travel will "be regional and rural communities that provide a different, and contrasting, experience" for almost 70 per cent of the Australian population who live in, and were in lockdown in, capital cities, he says.
"Given the international travel restrictions still in place, this represents an opportunity for regional destinations to market themselves, build awareness, and attract the interest of travellers who would otherwise have travelled overseas," Dr Lewis said.