Tourism operators in the Orange region have rebounded since COVID-19 shutdowns earlier this year.
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Orange 360 general manager Caddie Marshall said tourism is up by 45 per cent as more people come to visit the region amidst the shutdown in global travel.
"The minute those travel restrictions lifted we have seen a spike in the visitor numbers and certainly we've got record visitation numbers which is just fantastic," Ms Marshall said.
"People that were online looking for what they could see and do back in June are only able to come through now because of the demand being so high for regional Australia.
"We're hoping that this continues and we're actually sure it will continue all the way through in to 2021 as people have actually discovered how fantastic it is out here in the Central West."
Ms Marshall was one of 16 guest speakers at a Backing Business Forum at Ex-Services' Club on Friday where she addressed representatives from up to 96 businesses about what people are looking for when they visit the region.
"We have 300 members who are part of Orange 360 and certainly all of them have struggled through COVID to start with," she said.
"Now the rebound has been fantastic, this is really a forum about making sure businesses understand what the opportunities are, making sure they are ahead of the curve in terms of some of the trends that are coming out."
She said the inability to travel overseas at the moment has led to new people visiting the region for the first time.
"Now their eyes have opened, they love travelling and they've always wanted to explore the globe but now they've actually realised what's always been here in their backyard," Ms Marshall said.
"They've now experienced it, they love it and they are going to come back and they are going to bring their friends and family as well so it's just been a wonderful silver lining in what has been the COVID pandemic."
However, Ms Marshall said online booking has also made it easier for people.
"It gives credibility about the fact that when they come out here they know they are going to be able to have a really good time because they've booked in their restaurants, they've booked in their wine tastings they know where they can go hiking, where they can go pick fruit," Ms Marshall said.
"It's really important to make sure that you, your product and your experience is online having great imagery and having great video content.
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Tanya Marschke
I am based at Orange and cover a wide range of subjects as well as the weekly business column. I've worked consistently in the the media industry since 2006 including the past seven years at the Central Western Daily. Before moving to Orange, I worked as a journalist at weekly newspapers the Beaudesert Times and the Gold Coast Sun in Queensland, as well as the Scone Advocate in the Hunter Valley. I started my career at the Ridge News in Lightning Ridge while I completed my journalism studies remotely at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
I am based at Orange and cover a wide range of subjects as well as the weekly business column. I've worked consistently in the the media industry since 2006 including the past seven years at the Central Western Daily. Before moving to Orange, I worked as a journalist at weekly newspapers the Beaudesert Times and the Gold Coast Sun in Queensland, as well as the Scone Advocate in the Hunter Valley. I started my career at the Ridge News in Lightning Ridge while I completed my journalism studies remotely at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
