"We are not going to get tourists from metropolitan Melbourne until earliest, late November," she said.

"This region desperately need Melburnians to come back here.

"I was on the phone to the prime minister's office and the receptionist said they have been bombarded with calls from Victorians.

"Expecting a population of 5.5 million to have under five cases a day average ... it's not even happening in New South Wales."

Melburnians will not be able to move around the state until movement restrictions are eased in the Third Step, when travel within Victoria will be allowed, except to areas with higher restrictions.

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Mrs Rickson said she was "fortunate" to have some guests who were working on the Ararat to Ballarat railway line.

"That is going to nurse us through the next couple of months," she said.

"Business is heavily restricted and we can only take essential travellers ... we had to drop our prices to entice people in.

"We have felt it financially and it has gone on longer than we thought.

"I am lucky that I have some business ... but businesses like the cinema are trying to sell popcorn on the weekend to try and get some money."

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Mrs Rickinson said most accommodation providers in the region have no guests.

"During the first lockdown I found another job doing casual admin work at Gorst Rural in Lake Bolac for a couple of months," she said.

"I had to leave my three young children at home ... and my son started prep this year.

"It impacts all areas of your life and when you're stuck at home, you have so much time to think about things too.

"This virus isn't going anywhere ... and the help from the government is not adequate when you have loans, rent and are trying to support a family."

Acacia Caravan Park owner Matt Linsley said they were waiting to hear from the Victorian Caravan Parks Association to get "more clarification".

"We are still ticking away ... it's very quiet and not many people around," he said.

"We rely on Melburnians and people from South Australia which has been shut since April.

"That had a huge impact on us as well and Melbourne is also a huge market for this area.

"We need to rely on the government to do the right thing and get us out of this situation.

"It's okay to open up, but I don't want to open up and get shut down again. We want it to be managed properly and actually stay open."

Do you have a story to share? Get in touch - taylor.padfield@austcommunitymedia.com.au.

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