It markets itself as "the basecamp to the Barrington Tops" but Gloucester could be hard hit this season as the main access road to the snowy tourist destination remains closed.
The Herald reported this week that the Tops are expected to receive their first dusting of snow for the year on Wednesday, but Barrington Tops Forest Road is still closed after suffering major structural damage in the March floods.
Accommodation Gloucester's Trudy Schultz, who owns two accommodation properties with her husband and manages five others, said despite the expected snowfall, her places were not at capacity for the upcoming long weekend.
Related: Gloucester community mops up after flood
"Usually on long weekends we are fully booked," she said. "I'm sure it will completely book out, but I've definitely seen things slow down."
Ms Schultz said she wasn't affected too badly during the COVID-19 lockdown, with essential workers still needing accommodation in town, and she has been busy since thanks to regional tourism. But she said she expected business to be impacted through winter - the town's peak tourism season.
"Gloucester markets itself as base camp to the Barrington Tops," she said. "It is a major drawcard for us.
"People base themselves here to go up. This is the only safe access road to get there."
Repairing the road is the responsibility of Forestry Corporation of NSW and Ms Schultz said she had been campaigning Mid-Coast Council to lobby Forestry to fast-track the repairs.
"Barrington Tops Forest Road is actually an arterial road for us," she said. "It links to Scone and to the Barrington Tops.
"Gloucester has been through quite a lot in the past 12 to 18 months. We've had no water, fires, drought, COVID and then the floods.
"We just want them to get it done and get it back open."
Gloucester Business Chamber president James Hooke said the chamber was also trying to put the pressure on to have the repairs done as quickly as possible.
He said the loss of through traffic would be felt by many businesses, particularly accommodation and cafes.
Several other roads in the area are also still shut after the floods, which Mr Hooke said had resulted in scenic routes to places like Bulahdelah being cut off.
"It breaks that tourism cycle," Mr Hooke said.
But he said the chamber was encouraging people to visit some of the other snowy areas in the region, such as Copeland Tops and Nowendoc.
"We're trying to make the best of a bad show," he said. "National Parks still have a lot of good options and they're making an extra effort with tours and walks."
