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Accommodation providers and businesses in the NSW South Coast holiday region of Jervis Bay have been swamped by hundreds of cancellations and attempted cancellations to bookings following confusion over coronavirus border restrictions.
A Shoalhaven City Council spokeswoman said hundreds if not thousands of people had been trying to cancel their bookings this week based on a misunderstanding that all of Jervis Bay was classified as the Jervis Bay Territory and governed by the ACT s Public Health Order, which had banned Sydneysiders. After bushfires decimated the January trade for the whole of the Shoalhaven in 2020, tourism operators in the Jervis Bay area are now facing another blow. It’s important that visitors don’t panic and cancel their bookings in Jervis Bay, the spokeswoman said.
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Sydneysiders hoping to enjoy the beautiful white sand beaches in the Jervis Bay Territory are being turned away from the area on the Shoalhaven peninsula under strict Commonwealth coronavirus restrictions.
The popular holiday destination is usually filled with beachgoers and campers at this time of year. But now, entry is restricted as the area tries to prevent COVID-19 from hitting the local community.
At the only entry point to Booderee National Park, drivers details and where they ve come from are checked.
The territory is subject to similar public health directions that are in place in the ACT, with people who have been to ACT-declared hotspots, including Greater Sydney, Central Coast and Wollongong regions, not permitted to enter without a valid exemption.