Businesses on the Victorian side have had their busiest weekend in months, with Melburnians enjoying freedom from the city's confines.

Yarrawonga Mulwala Tourism executive officer Noel Wright said those visitors being able to cross the lake would bring relief.

"Yarrawonga is the bigger town, but a lot of the entertainment and clubs are on the NSW side," he said.

"The Albury-Wodonga experience is on both sides of the river ... and it's the same here.

"I know Peter Duncan from the water ski club is looking forward to next weekend when effectively the border is open.

"I find it weird they're opening on Monday morning, it could have been Friday morning and this weekend could have been saved."

Hardluck Coffee Co. owner Jarrod Elliott agreed many business owners in Mulwala would welcome the trade Yarrawonga had seen.

"Last weekend was huge, it was probably our biggest one for six months," he said.

"You couldn't get a park anywhere in Yarrawonga, and the pub was doing good trade, which is so positive compared to where we were six months ago.

"There's tourists we see every year that we're starting to catch up with again.

"I think the border opening will make a bigger difference to businesses in Mulwala."

The Border Mail spoke to a number of businesses in Yarrawonga that had all seen a big spike in visitation last weekend, including Kitty and Co. on Belmore Street, a new shoe store.

"In the last few days, we've seen a lot of Melbourne people, and they're just excited to be out," store manager Julie McCabe said.

"Hopefully, we get a few more travellers in and it will pick up a lot more, especially around Christmas."

Ms McCabe said the store was only opened in August, with one of the owners being from Melbourne.

"There was another shoe shop that closed ... she said 'what do you think about opening a shoe shop?'" she said.

"I thought, it's probably not the right time, but we'll give it a go. And it's been really good actually."

Mr Elliott said his biggest struggle at the moment was finding staff.

"In another two or three weeks, we hopefully will have positions filled," he said.

"I think a lot of people are having the same struggle.

"We're all competing for the same pool of talent, I suppose.

"Uni hasn't stopped in the city yet; hopefully that will make a difference [for job applications].

"It's a good problem to have."

The annual cod classic cancellation and the Lake Mulwala Aquazone deciding not to operate until December for this season are among the big attractions that have been impacted.

Mr Wright was confident the festive season would be positive for businesses in the region.

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He said an outdoor dining, food-truck style campaign but with restaurants would take place.

"With people not able to travel overseas, they will look for an alternative, and this isn't a bad alternative," he said.

"You've got to have the door open for people to walk through."