Destination Port Stephens chairman Andrew Macdonald is a "big fan" of Annastacia Palaszczuk.
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The Queensland premier's border closure is forcing Victorian and NSW tourists to look closer to home in winter, including to the coastal holiday town of Nelson Bay.
"If the borders stay closed through August or September like they're talking about, it will be a great little boon for us," Mr Macdonald said on Monday.
"I think we're positioned quite well for a recovery as long as we don't have a second wave where there's nervousness around.
"Things are looking up a lot from about two months ago."
Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said last week that Ms Palaszczuk might be in a position to make a call on the border restrictions after a national cabinet meeting on Friday. The state has been closed to recreational travellers since March 25.
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A continuing delay in announcing the border reopening likely will encourage tourists to book elsewhere for the July school holidays.
Mr Macdonald said hotels and restaurants in Port Stephens had been as busy over the long weekend as they had in the past.
His own Hotel Nelson had been booked out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and was full for the coming weekend as well.
"It's been booming up there, really. Compared with last June long weekend, I think we're definitely on par with that," he said. "People came out of the woodwork and moved about.
"It was a slow build-up. From the first of June it wasn't that active. I thought there'd be a lot more as soon as the restrictions were released."
He said other accommodation, including small hotels and larger resorts like The Anchorage and Bannisters, had also enjoyed a bumper weekend after 10 weeks of quiet.
"It wasn't just Sydneysiders; it was people from the Hunter and Upper Hunter," he said.
"A lot of locals came out to eat at restaurants. It was a very different scene up there on the weekend."
Mr Macdonald said Port Stephens tour operators had been slower to pick up business, but he hoped they would bounce back in the July holidays.