Local community members and businesses have been feeling the impacts of rising costs of petrol over the last few weeks.

Across the shire, the consensus from the district's business chambers and regional development corporations has been many businesses are feeling the pinch from the higher fuel costs we have seen over the last month.

Harden Murrumburrah Regional Development Corporation's Melissa Pinney said they are certainly seeing the impacts of freight is causing some real challenges with their businesses that have product delivered as the cost of freight is going up.

Ms Pinney said local retailers and food outlets are experiencing a noticeable slowdown, as everyone is forced to tighten their budgets.

"This economic strain is further compounded by a significant drop in travellers along Burley Griffin Way, leading to a sharp decline in trade for local businesses," she said.

Grant Robinson from the Boorowa Business Chamber said there is a few different ways of looking at the impacts of rising costs, including looking at grey nomads and caravanners sticking around longer rather than moving on in just a few weeks to cut down on fuel.

Mr Robinson said the cost of doing business is increasing as the cost of freight is rising, which impacts many businesses across many industries.

Several business owners across Harden and Murrumburrah echoed that sentiment about the impact rising freight was having on local businesses,

Ken Tanson from Harden’s House of Honey said it’s not just the cost of freight that has increased, they are seeing fuel prices increase by 40% but production by 60%.

"For example, a box of products that we were previously charged $42 freight, increased to $50 not long ago, but now is $98. If we keep the price of products affordable so people can still purchase them, there is no margin left," he said,

Like Ken, Steve Barnes from the Barnes Store Emporium and Café is noticing the impact of freight costs.

Steve said even the products they produce locally are being hit with large increased in production and freight costs.

"Our popular Smoked Olive Oil that was developed during the 2020 lockdown is prepared in Yass. With such a rapid increase in the price of diesel, it is difficult to keep track of the costs to have products produced and supplied and therefore what you need your sale price to be," he said.

The Ohana Collection in Murrumburrah is a popular store offering a variety of gifts, plants, and flower arrangements and has prided itself on offering free delivery locally. Unfortunately, this can’t continue.

Olive Doolan from the Ohana Collection told us they have recently been notified that our freight charges are going to double.

"We have always tried to deliver flower arrangements in the local area free of charge, but sadly we now need to introduce a delivery fee. It’s just no longer viable to have free delivery,” she said.

On the events and tourism front, Mr Robinson said said they have seen many events and functions cancelled as some organisers feel it is unfair asking families to pay increased costs to attend the function.

Mr Robinson said they have also seen a decline on local spend, though with the Easter long weekend they saw a slightly increase in business as people stayed local, however overall spending is down.

The local Thai Restaurant in Murrumburrah normally has lots of travellers stopping for lunch or dinner and the school holidays is generally quite a busy time for Baifern Thai restaurant in Murrumburrah. Not this school holidays though.

Fern Promchai from Baifern Thai said it has been much quieter with less people travelling on Burley Griffin Way, but they are also noticing a drop in the regular clientele as well.

"With not just fuel increases but also interest rate rises, family budgets are tight and unfortunately eating out is something people seem to be cutting back on," he said.

Despite the price of oil having dropped a little last week, Mr Robinson said they anticipate that the tail of the higher fuel prices is going to be a lot longer than expected.

Lavinia Mullamy from The Young Business Network agreed the fuel prices have had an impact on people, particularly local farmers and fruit producers who rely on machinery which takes quite a bit of petrol.

Coming from a business perspective, Ms Mullamy said they have noticed the impacts of people travelling less to rural areas which has an impact on tourism

Ms Pinney elaborated on the impacts of higher costs on primary producers, saying agriculture stands as the backbone of our local economy, with primary production, including sheep, beef cattle, and grain farming leading the way.

"Recently, our farmers have been caught in a challenging situation, facing a combination of escalating input and transport expenses," she said,

"Not only do they contend with the same inflationary pressures affecting families in town, but they also bear the brunt of steep price hikes in essentials like fertilizer and chemicals."

Ms Pinney said operational costs continue to climb for farmers in Harden-Murrumburrah and its surrounding villages, the effects are felt far beyond the fields.

"Despite these challenges, there is a glimmer of hope. Higher costs may encourage more visitors from Canberra to seek out experiences closer to home, offering new opportunities for inbound tourism.

"The Hilltops region has a wealth of attractions to explore, and we are actively working to expand options for regional visitors, aiming to draw in more people from nearby areas rather than relying solely on those from Sydney or interstate," Ms Pinney said.

With the school holidays upon us, there are plenty of things to to see and do within the Hilltops region which won't break the bank in fuel costs, while supporting local businesses and community groups.

The Hilltops Visitor Information Centre affirms that the Hilltops Region continues to offer a strong and diverse line-up of events for both locals and visitors.

There are also plenty of local attractions, events and experiences within the Hilltops that offer great options close to home.