Tamworth travel agents, businesses rejoice as government announces reopening of international borders

Fully-vaccinated travellers from across the globe will be allowed to enter Australia after a near two-year wait. At this stage 'fully-vaccinated' does not include booster shots.

The reaction from locals has been emphatic, and Chris Watson Travel owner, Chris Watson, said it was a sign the most difficult time in modern history for his profession could be coming to an end.

"It's great news today [Monday] to hear that borders will be opening to international travellers and we'll be able to welcome them back into Australia," he said.

"I think it's great for tourism-based businesses, it's a great opportunity for businesses to get out there and really start promoting tourism.

"We expect bookings to increase with the news because people feel more confident about going out and travelling overseas.

"And we expect we'll see the Australian tourism operators promoting us and bringing people into Australia, and that's a win for regional areas like Tamworth because hopefully we can get them out to explore off-the-beaten-track destinations."

But there is still more to be done before things are completely back to normal, he said.

Mr Watson believes the next step will be allowing cruise ships to return, which makes up a lot of his business.

"I think this is a step in the right direction to getting businesses back to where they were two or three years ago ... and we hope they can restart cruising soon so that part of our business can get back up and running," he said.

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But of course it's not just about people going out, but people coming in, and that will provide a huge boost to the local business sector.

Whether they're a visitor from Venezuela, a worker from Wales or relative from Rwanda, they can now enter the city and pump some money into the local economy, and that excites Tamworth Business Chamber president Stephanie Cameron.

"I think that's really great news in terms of tourism and hospitality for the region," Ms Cameron said.

"I you have friends and families from overseas, or if you have businesspeople who want to come over and look at investing in regional Australia.

"Food security is an issue, so we often do have other countries coming in to invest in agriculture."

She said it will be important for the government to manage the reopening in a safe way, so the nation is not suddenly overwhelmed with cases and restrictions are reimposed.

Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson, who is also NSW Minister for Hospitality, is hopeful the border reopening will go smoothly and revitalise the struggling sector.

"When you see international borders open up you see opportunity with a capital 'O'," he said.

"That also means there will be the opportunity for more workers as well, not only in the hospitality industry but in our agricultural sector too.

"We've seen many, many positions in agriculture and hospitality not be able to be filled for a variety of reasons, so this just helps to pull those jigsaw pieces together."

Mr Anderson said the news is an indication that Australia is learning to live with COVID, and the light at the end of the tunnel is getting easier to see.

Unvaccinated travellers will still have to apply for entry and undergo quarantine upon arrival.

State-based caps on quarantine will continue, with the number still being determined by state and territory governments.

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