THE Victoria-New South Wales border closure has come as a welcome boon to accommodation operators in Wentworth, as the town has been flooded with hundreds of police and Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel enforcing the border restrictions.
The Wentworth Grande Resort is fully booked with police in town to enforce the six-week border closure
“The day before the border closed, we got the phone call from the police and they wanted to book out the whole hotel,” owner-operator David Gerden said.
“All the overflow ended up at the other motels … there’s more of them here than they can fit into rooms.”
“There’s a lot of accommodation providers here in town, so the fact that they’re all full as well is huge for the area.”
For Mr Gerden, having the resort booked out was a blessing after the first round of coronavirus restrictions caused the business to temporarily close.
“In March, we lost 95 per cent of our business for the whole year in 10 days,” he said.
“If you had been here during the first lockdown period, you would’ve seen how quiet it was. This is the complete opposite. We’ve gone from losing almost everything to being 100 per cent full.”
And the guests got a five-star review from their host.
“They’ve been some of the best guests we’ve ever had,” Mr Gerden said.
“I could not could not be happier with them.”
The Darling Junction Motor Inn is another of the many venues across Wentworth Shire that pitched in to accommodate the border patrol.
Co-owner Chris Thompson said the influx of police and ADF members had been a welcome boost for the business she operates with husband Bruce — and for the town — after a tough start to the year.
“It has been very good for us here in Wentworth at the moment,” she said.
“Every event has been closed or cancelled since March. March is the beginning of our season, when we start to pick up again and it was just all closed off. It’s been tough.”
The temporary population increase hasn’t just been good for accommodation businesses. It has meant increased patronage for all sorts of businesses across the NSW side of Sunraysia, at a time of year when cold weather normally slows down tourism.
“The pubs are flat-out and I’d imagine the takeaway shops are pretty busy as well,” Mr Gerden said.
“We’re making the most of a bad situation.”
