Outdoor attractions reported record visitation numbers over the long weekend as interstate tourists made the trip to COVID-free Canberra and locals stayed close to home.
Venues were inundated with huge numbers for a COVID-19 world, as ACT residents heeded government advice to enjoy a "staycation" this school holidays and interstate travellers came to visit over the Labour Day long weekend.
The National Arboretum reported record attendance with more than 8200 visitors through the Village Centre on Saturday and Sunday and another 3500 expected on Monday.
Executive branch manager Scott Sadler said that number didn't account for the likely thousands more people hiking or riding their way through the park's many trails.
Mr Sadler said about 40 per cent of the visitors were from NSW and a large number had travelled south from Queensland.
The Arboretum would typically attract some 6000 guests over the weekend, he said, with this week's numbers expected to double that figure. At Cockington Green Gardens, the warm and sunny weekend had seniors and school groups and interstate tourists descending on the miniature village as they arrived in Canberra for the amended Floriade.
With the floral festival dispersed across Canberra, the garden's Sally-Anne Sarah said the business was almost wholly reliant on school holiday revenue as its biggest market had been stripped away by COVID-19.
She said the park had been fully booked over the weekend, but numbers were significantly scaled down.
"Quite a few hundred we can have roaming around the park but they've got to be timed well so you've got people exiting and entering at a reasonable, spaced-out pace," she said.
Guests had to book a time slot in advance to ensure COVID-19 capacity was adhered to.
"The whole tourism industry is delighted to have a long weekend and school holidays, it's one little pocket of genuine business and relief," Ms Sarah said.
"If we were not restricted with capacity we certainly would have been busier. It's been a really good weekend and we're happy to be able to have the capacity we're allowed."
As summer approached, Ms Sarah said it was an opportunity to attract Canberrans who typically went coastal in the warmer months.
"Now we've got a new market with our domestic, local travellers we're looking forward to it because it could actually bring more people to Canberra that might have gone elsewhere in the past," she said.
"We're getting ready to do some local campaigns with other attractions as well and attract some more people in to town."
The National Botanic Gardens also reported a busy weekend, with more than 3000 people traipsing the grounds this weekend.
To the south, at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve staff reported a "very busy" carpark full of many ACT number plates and a scattering of interstate arrivals.
With restrictions to ease on Friday, the Arboretum could soon welcome up to 200 people to the venue's cafe.
