A Dubbo accommodation provider that was at 100 per cent capacity during the school holidays is now expecting to be "busy right through until Christmas" and beyond.
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The NRMA Dubbo Holiday Park reached no vacancies for the spring break three weeks before it started but still had visitors drive in looking for a place to stay, manager Shaunie Bruce said.
The business experienced the high demand as other accommodation operators and attractions across the city reported a tourism boom in recent weeks, amid borders that remain closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The school holidays compared with last year we were chockers," Mrs Bruce said.
The city could be looking at a jump in its average length of visitation, which in December 2018 had a five-year average of 2.2 nights, according to Dubbo Regional Council figures.
Mrs Bruce said in other school holiday periods, guests normally stayed two or three nights, but this time people had stayed from five to six nights, and even "seven plus nights".
"This time of year, we normally have your one or two-night stopovers with people heading between Victoria and Queensland, and Queensland and Victoria," she said.
"...at the moment, because all the borders are shut, they're coming out and they're really taking their time to explore NSW and they're spending four, five even six days with us on their way either heading further out west, or on their way back home from being out west.
"So it's really good to see people out here supporting us here in Dubbo as well as central-west NSW."
Among their guests were families, couples, and friendships groups who were coming to explore the zoo and the city and from all across NSW, Mrs Bruce said.
"People just wanting to support the bush I guess after the drought and then COVID hitting, they thought they'd come out here and spend their money," she said.
"The zoo is obviously a really big attraction, they come out for the zoo, the Gaol, and they also use Dubbo as their base camp, and they go and explore the little towns around Dubbo."
Bookings and inquiries already received suggest demand will remain strong.
"So just by looking at our booking chart, and all the inquiries we've had come through I think we are going to be busy right through until Christmas and even then after Christmas," Mrs Bruce said.
"...we always recommend people book when they ring to inquire or email to inquire... as soon as you know your dates, book, because we are filling up."
Mrs Bruce said it was good to see people exploring their own state.