Hunter Valley businesses 'severely impacted' by Sydney lockdown

Hunter residents are being urged to "rediscover their own backyard" and support local businesses, with many offering deals for locals to keep the doors open during this difficult time.

Hunter Valley Wine and Tourism Association CEO Amy Cooper said at least 95 percent of the region's tourism businesses - which employ more than 2000 local people - have been "severely impacted" as a consequence of the lockdown.

Early figures obtained by HVWTA estimate 20 percent of businesses have closed their doors (with some reverting to online sales), about 27 percent have lost all of their business but are staying operational, and about half have lost at least 75 percent of bookings and customers.

Ms Cooper said while the association acknowledges the "tough and decisive" action required to keep the community safe, the timing of the lockdown has been devastating for the Hunter Valley, with the winter school holidays traditionally a busy time.

"By now it would have only increased in severity (with Sydney lockdown and border closures)," she said.

"Other areas of regional NSW are hesitant about travelling in the current environment, which you can appreciate given how fast it spreads - look at what's happened in Victoria.

"But it is a great time for locals to be really active."

The association has launched two campaigns - 'Live Local, Love Local' (special offers and discounted deals for Hunter Valley locals and regional NSW visitors), and 'Taste the Hunter Valley at Home' (online wine and produce specials for Sydney residents and anyone who wishes to stay at home during the current conditions).

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Ms Cooper said the association was appreciative of the government's business support packages and COVID relief payments for workers, and thanked Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon for his advocacy.

"The financial support and the extension of the COVID payment into regional areas will keep businesses and employees ticking over until we're able to get tourism up and firing again... but there will still be a significant economic loss," Ms Cooper said.

"While we've been through it before, the challenge with this lockdown is that it initially looked like it would be a lot shorter.

"It's the uncertainty of it - how long is this going to last?"

However, Ms Cooper said she is confident the Hunter Valley will bounce back once again, after the "rollercoaster" it has experienced in the past couple of years.

"We've been through drought, fires, COVID, floods, China tariffs, and back to COVID lockdown," she said.

"Being from an agriculture basis makes the industry naturally resilient, and well connected, all supporting each other really well.

"We are confident that tourism will rebound. It's just a matter of when, and holding out until then.

"We are lucky that we have such a resilient and connected community.

"It allows you to remain optimistic and prepared and pragmatic about weathering the storm.

"But it's really tough, with the diversity of businesses in the region.

"Everybody feels it... it has a big flow-on effect."

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Meanwhile, HVWTA has received a $900,000 grant for its Recovery and Resilience Program, under stage two of the NSW Bushfire Local Economic Recovery fund.

The program is designed to address the adverse impacts of the 2019-20 bushfires, while retaining and creating local jobs to ensure the industry remains viable in the long-term.

The grant will fund a tourism campaign that aims to "improve destination perception, increase consumer demand, raise sales value, and boost domestic tourism".

Other local beneficiaries of the funding round included Cessnock City Council, which received $1 million for Rural Fire Service shed upgrades across the LGA; the Upper Yango fire and ecology restoration project ($382,075); and A2E - Accelerating Event Economies ($861,476), a project that aims to attract large events to the Hunter.