THE ring of steel dividing Melbourne from regional Victoria will come down in two weeks bringing relief to accommodation providers and tourism businesses across the south-west.

This week, Premier, Daniel Andrews announced Melbournians would be allowed to freely travel within Victoria from November 9.

BIG4 Port Fairy Holiday Park manager, Rohan Doherty said the announcement had driven a rush of bookings for the summer holidays.

“I have been working over the past couple of days and honestly the phone has been ringing off the hook, it has been going crazy,” he said.

“It is definitely a sense of relief hearing the phone once again.

“Everyone has friends and family in Melbourne and we really sympathise on how tough they have done it in lockdown, and we are looking forward to becoming one again and celebrating.

“We are definitely looking forward to restrictions easing further and we still have some amenities that are restricted and such like indoor play centres, but we are so excited to welcome our Melbourne friends from November 9.”

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