Chief Minister Michael Gunner has stayed firm on the Northern Territory's tight border control measures after removing bio-security movement restrictions within the Territory.

Intra-state travel therefore remains the only solution on the table for struggling tourism operators in the Katherine region.

Nobody knew whether it would work, but the Queen's Birthday Weekend saw campgrounds back at full capacity.

Edith Falls Campground manager Lisa Marks says the weekend was an encouraging sign she hope continues.

"We were turning people back all weekend until we changed the sign out on the road to stop more people coming in," she said.

"It's a relief to see people coming out and we hope it continues, we had Katherine locals as well come out for our pizza and music night on Saturday.

"We've got local Katherine musicians Dani and Nate playing every Saturday night going forward so we hope locals as well as people from Darwin will make the trip out.

"The school holidays are our next big time but we hope people keep coming on the weekends as well because during the week I'm sure we'll be dead quiet.

"It's a perfect time for Territorians to come see their own backyard without the usual crush of tourists," she said.

Kakadu Tourism's business development manager and tourism industry veteran Becca Mills happened to be in Katherine for the long weekend and said the government's plan seems to be working.

Not all local businesses saw the long weekend's benefits, however.

Ms Mills speaks with over 10 years of industry experience from across Asia the USA and believes advertising is how businesses can set themselves apart during these uncertain times.

"Advertising is incredibly important to operators, they need to shout out we are open, we are clean, and we are ready to welcome Territorians.

"So far it's mostly working first and foremost because Territorians are dying for the freedom to travel.

"They already had their holidays booked and usually you can get to Asia for less than a hundred dollars so it's an attractive option.

"Kakadu is on everyone's lips as well, people aren't sure about the information but the National Park will be open to visitors from June 18," she said.

Nitmiluk Tours' opening weekend at Katherine Gorge was such a success they expanded their planned operations.

"We were only supposed to put on one tour on Saturday but we ended up having to put extra boats on the water," CEO Jane Runyu-Fordimail said.

"We thought our dining would only run for two hours but we ended up staying open really late because people kept coming, even people from Katherine were just coming out for a feed.

"We were just trying to slot people into places as they were coming in, it was mighty hectic with the little staff we have now but as always you pull through and it's great for us to see," she said.

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox each Friday at 6am from the Katherine Times. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, sign up here.