President Judy Brown has urged residents to spend time in the Hunter Valley wine country and Port Stephens, and urged businesses to consider holding events in these areas.

It comes as the Coronavirus, and summer bushfires, has seen a significant drop in tourism in both areas, which is having a huge flow-on effect across many different types of businesses.

Wine country tourism is losing about $15 million per month. The financial loss in Port Stephens is still being calculated but is expected to be in the millions with visitors numbers plummeting to levels not seen since the Global Financial Crisis.

"We're all in this together and every visit will help to make a difference," Ms Brown said.

"It doesn't have to be a six week holiday, it can be a long weekend or every second weekend, or even a day trip - we're close enough that you could go there for a day."

Ms Brown said the city's businesses could also assist if they held meetings in Port Stephens or the wine country, or bought products from those areas.

"We're happy to work alongside the other chambers to keep that cohesion going," she said.

Hunter Valley Wine and Tourism Association president, and Tulloch Wines CEO, Christina Tulloch said there were so many things for people to see and do in the area.

She said cellar doors were open to enjoy wine tastings - including many award-winning wines, and there was a wide range of restaurants serving delicious food, and many attractions including Hunter Valley Gardens.

Destination Port Stephens CEO Eileen Gilliland said Port Stephens was known for its beautiful beaches but had so much more to offer. She said it had a strong food scene as well as interactions with wildlife and a diverse shopping precinct.

Ms Brown said Maitland's position between Port Stephens and the wine country brought the chance of flow-on tourism.

"A lot of visitors go to Port Stephens for the beaches and then head out to the wineries so one area can feed off the other," Ms Brown said.

"We're in the middle of those two areas and I'd like to think visitors see Maitland as the other place that you go in the Hunter region rather than a place you just drive through.

"If they have come from Nelsons Bay they could visit the Gaol and see what it has to offer - it is a really interesting historical part of Maitland. Then they could wander over to The Levee and have a coffee or lunch and take a look at the shops. In the afternoon they could head over to the vineyards."

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