DINE and Discover vouchers have been a blessing for Tamworth businesses, with more than $1.5 million being injected into the economy as a result of the initiative - and now it's been extended for a further month.
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The NSW government announced on Wednesday morning the program's end date would be pushed from June 30 to July 31, which will take in the June - July school holidays.
Business owners are hoping the extension will encourage people to use the vouchers, with a large amount of them remaining unredeemed so far.
Just more than half of dine vouchers have been used, while that figure is only about 10 per cent for discover vouchers.
Tamworth Escape Rooms manager, Jody Stevens, said people should utilise the offer and believes it will be a major boost for them to remain valid over the holidays.
"I think it's great to cover the school holidays, I think that's a really sensible idea," she said.
"I've had a lot of people wanting to use their vouchers to book for the school holidays, but now they can just come and use it."
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Given the number of people that come to town during that time, she is expecting to be busy because a significant portion of her customers have been from surrounding regions such as Moree, Narrabri and Scone.
Another business that relies on travellers is the Willow Tree Inn, which has been accepting dine vouchers.
Manager Simon Lucas said there has been a steady stream of voucher users since the program began, but expects the extension may cause more to use it.
"This has probably served as a reminder to people who have forgotten to register and forgotten to use them," he said.
"To use myself for example I used one but haven't used any of the others and it's purely that reminder that 'hey these finish up in a couple of weeks so I probably should use them'."
Mr Lucas also said there has been a noticeable difference in the demographic that has been using the vouchers.
He revealed the over-50s had been overwhelmingly more active in using program and the app at the Willow Tree Inn compared to younger people, and said people under 30 would "very rarely" pull them out.
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Cody Tsaousis
I'm a news reporter who enjoys covering politics and energy, but I will write about anything for my community. I moved to the New England in 2021 after spending several years in the Upper Hunter.
I'm a news reporter who enjoys covering politics and energy, but I will write about anything for my community. I moved to the New England in 2021 after spending several years in the Upper Hunter.
