There are more than 70 places to stay in Dubbo but tonight, there's not a spare motel room available - or any other kind of accommodation.

Staff at the Dubbo Visitors Centre are "reeling" from the influx of calls from visitors seeking accommodation this weekend.

Sydney has been largely shut down by APEC security measures as the world's leaders gather for high-level talks.

Encouraged by rural tourism deals and a public holiday the city, much of Sydney has left for a weekend away.

While Dubbo's motels are at their capacity, it's not just because of APEC.

People have gathered in Dubbo for the NSW Baton Twirling Championships, the Orana camping show and the rugby union finals.

The tourism boom is being felt at the Western Plains Zoo, whose anticipated Saturday rush started a day earlier than expected.

Cars began lining up yesterday morning outside the zoo's gates.

The Zoofari Lodge has been booked out for weeks after the zoo participated in the APEC bonus long weekend getaway.

One family who sought the quiet - and warmth - of Dubbo was Simeon and Vyara Malchev who visited Western Plains Zoo yesterday for the first time with their son Kalin.

The Malchevs decided to spend the long weekend in Dubbo but couldn't get a motel in town on Friday night.

"Everything was booked out - we will stay in Narromine tonight (Friday)," Mr Malchev said.

APEC hasn't made a large impact on Mr and Mrs Malchev, but downtown Sydney is hard to navigate. And the Malchevs could not believe the weather.

"Sydney is so rainy - here the weather is amazing," they said.

Chairman of the Dubbo City Tourism Association, Wayne Mawbey, said the weekend's heavy bookings were welcome after a poor showing last weekend.

"Last weekend was shocking, one of the worst in a while - but this one, everything's happening," Mr Mawbey said.

The rush in bookings had not carried over to Sunday, Mr Mawbey said yesterday.

"But I'm optimistic, with APEC I'm hoping for carry over - there'll be some but not as much as normal over a long weekend."

Local tourist operators took up an opportunity provided by Tourism NSW to promote a special offer as part of the NSW's Bonus Long Weekend Getaway campaign.

The campaign was promoted heavily in Sydney and Dubbo was now reaping the benefits of that campaign, Dubbo City Council said.

lynton.grace

@ruralpress.com