It could take Australia's major cities as long as five years to recoup tourism losses, with people heading out of town as virus travel restrictions are loosened.
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The NRMA had anticipated a 650 per cent surge in accommodation bookings after the NSW government's announcement it would ease regional travel bans.
"That was like going from nothing - from zero - so we expected that," NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said.
But they didn't predict the three-fold increase in bookings compared with the same time last year.
People are obviously desperate for a holiday after being cooped up in quarantine, Mr Khoury said.
"The fact that they can't go overseas, we hope this will bring a much-needed boost to regions," he told AAP.
Grey skies and stormy seas have proved no deterrent, with camping grounds and coastal stays quickly snapped up ahead of the June 8 long weekend.
Travellers are also staying away longer, booking about one and a half nights extra than normal, Mr Khoury said.
Postcard destinations such as Byron Bay and the NSW north coast are attracting much-needed tourism dollars but in Sydney, the sector continues to be crippled by the coronavirus.
Tourism Accommodation Australia chief executive Michael Johnson said the major capitals still lack traditional drawcards.
"No conferences - footy games and events have all been cancelled - so we haven't seen any uptake in pre-bookings for June and July," Mr Johnson told AAP on Wednesday.
Galleries, museums and fine dining lack the pull of big-ticket events such as Sydney's Vivid Festival, he said.
Hotel occupancy rates in Sydney and Melbourne currently range between 10 and 15 per cent, with some reporting just three to five per cent capacity.
And cancellations are still occurring as international travellers who had banked on Australian borders reopening by July have had to rethink their plans.
It's likely hotels will reach just 40 per cent occupancy by mid-next year, only returning to pre-virus levels by 2022, Mr Johnson said.
And some regional tourist data could be misleading, with weekend visitor numbers dropping off dramatically during the week.
He joined a growing rollcall of industry chiefs pushing for interstate borders to open and the federal government's JobKeeper program to be extended beyond September for the tourism industry.
"We are a resilient industry but we've never seen anything of this magnitude," he said.
Tourism hotspots Coffs Harbour and the NSW mid-north coast were the hardest-hit regions, losing more than 11 per cent of jobs while one in 10 people on Queensland's Sunshine Coast were newly out of work.
Queensland's Premier Annastacia Palaszcuk is maintaining a hardline on border closures despite pressure from the federal government and tourism operators.
Mr Johnson visited Cairns in November and late February and found the difference devastating.
"It was like chalk and cheese, they're being decimated up there," he said.
Maintaining a second domestic airlines was vital for tourism in the far north, he added.
"Without those routes, we will just see so many more job losses".
Australian Associated Press
