Regional New South Wales locals express mixed emotions ahead of reopening to tourists.
One local, Clark Webb from Coffs Creek on the NSW north coast says he has lost essentially 100 percent of trade for his stand up paddle board business.
Despite the loss in revenue, Mr Webb says he remains “apprehensive and nervous” about reopening.
On the contrary, Coffs Harbour City Mayor Denise Knight says, “The Businesses are screaming out, we need the tourists here, we need the visitors.”
However, Mayor Knight asked for an extra two weeks for the vaccination rate to increase.
The rate for fully vaccinated Coffs Harbour locals lags about ten per cent behind the state average.