THE Mildura-Wentworth region suffered the largest visitor downturn along the Victoria-NSW border through 2020-21, amid warnings that border regions face a "disproportionate rate of recovery" from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Visitor numbers and direct expenditure both fell by more than 50 per cent between April 2020 to March 2021, while total night stays were down by almost 60 per cent.

Tourism indust...