Easing restrictions, combined with the second week of school holidays, has helped operators from Sea Lake to Halls Gap hit the ground running.

Grampians Tourism chief executive Marc Sleeman said prior to restrictions easing, the situation for businesses was "pretty dire".

"It was concerning, with school holidays just around the corner and no sign of reopening," he said.

"So this has been sensational for us. Things are looking very positive for the region, and I am very excited about the prospect of recovering strongly."

Mr Sleeman said there had been a slower return of travellers in the first week of the school holidays, but visitation numbers had seen a "major uplift" in the second week.

"Those numbers are not across the whole state, either," he said.

"Not everyone is seeing that increase. So it goes to show that our region is very appealing for that post-COVID getaway, for families and people looking for a place to escape.

"Being locked up and not being able to travel, I think people want to go somewhere open, and in the outdoors, to connect with nature.

"It's a big plus for our area."

The desire to escape to nature has also helped the Dimboola Imaginarium.

Imaginarium co-owner Chan Uoy said after restrictions eased a fortnight ago, there was an immediate flock of caravans and campers coming through the town.

He said since reopening, the store had had customers visiting from across the region.

"We've had people travelling far and wide to come to the Imaginarium, which is really cool," he said.

"We've had people from Harrow, Apsley, Ararat ... from all over. That has been really interesting.

"I think this has provided Victorians with a really good chance to check out their own backyard."

Sea Lake Tyrell Tours' Julie Pringle said intrastate tourism had also helped reinvigorate Sea Lake across the last two weeks.

She said while there had been an initially "cautious" return of tourism in the first week of school holidays, it had since been increased.

"I think people, and I'm feeling a bit the same, are still a little bit anxious about COVID. But business has picked up, and the town is extremely busy now," she said.

"It's been really good to actually get back to business."

READ MORE:

Ms Pringle said it had been difficult to see Sea Lake, which has become a tourist hotspot in recent years, so quiet.during the COVID period.

"It just got too much in the end. It was too quiet," she said.

"We are all really mindful of our aging community, so we've been really careful about coming back too soon. But it's really nice to welcome people back to our town again.

"We have so much to offer at Sea Lake now, it's actually an ideal location for regional Victorians to visit."

Did you know you can receive updates straight to your inbox? To make sure you're up-to-date with news from across the region, sign up below.