THE tourism industry is one of many to be battered and bruised by the coronavirus and it is a headache Leeton's John Collins knows all too well.
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Mr Collins runs his own tourism entity - Agricultural Tours Riverina - a business he has built from the ground up.
However, in recent months all of that has come to an abrupt halt thanks to COVID-19.
The lockdown has been felt differently by different types of industries and businesses around the MIA.
Much of the region's tourism consists of people visiting families and relatives and these visits often don't necessarily involve significant purchases contributing to the local economy.
The "grey nomads" similarly are not big contributors to the local economy, but business visitors and group tours are much more likely to block purchase accommodation, meals and other local goods and services.
Riverina Agricultural Tours is one such business, according to Mr Collins.
The business was established in 2014 and regularly brings tour groups of all sizes to the region, but Mr Collins said since the pandemic and its associated restrictions, it had been "hit for six".
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Both its international and domestic visitor markets have been frozen due to travel restrictions.
"Our last business was on March 9, when a single Canadian farmer spent one day meeting with local irrigated croppers," Mr Collins said.
"We spent the remainder of the second week of March cancelling tours.
"Since then we have had a small number of tentative inquiries for tours that might take place in December or early next year."
Luckily we saw what was coming
- John Collins
The company had also arranged a Sydney reception for members of the Indonesian/Malaysian/Vietnamese business communities interested to know what commercial connections might be possible with Riverina producers.
"Luckily we saw what was coming," Mr Collins said.
"That reception, scheduled for March 31, was cancelled before any significant expenditure commitments were entered into."
The business is using the enforced downtime to renovate its website, and to establish newsletters aimed at Sydney schools and international group tour agencies.
"We think it important to reassure our customers and prospective customers that we remain active and that we will survive and be ready to provide a service as soon as travel restrictions are lifted," Mr Collins said.
"Given that so many of our competitors are succumbing it is even possible we will be in a better relative position once tour groups start moving again."