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.