The tourism sector has had to grapple with thousands of school excursion cancellations in recent weeks as east coast states deal with Covid outbreaks and restrictions.

It comes as lockdowns in Melbourne and Sydney have both been extended as the Delta outbreak rages on, with NSW adding another 344 cases on Wednesday.

Garry Watson, the project leader of the National Capital Educational Tourism Project, said there had already been a spate of school cancellations for third term and bookings for the end of the year were also looking unlikely to go ahead.

"We had a very good first half of the year - probably 35,000 kids but better than that, we had a bump in bookings for third term, which is normally our biggest market, and bump in bookings for fourth term," he said.

"But now we've lost a thousand schools in the third term already, which is 50,000 kids, which I would estimate is $35 million to the ACT economy.

"It's as simple as that."

It was a stark contrast to the more than 170,000 students who visited Canberra in 2019, generating around $150 million for the economy, he said.

Cancelled annual excursions to the capital's national institutions will leave purpose-built accommodation providers around the territory left with hundreds of empty beds.

Usually rivals, the nine largest providers of student-focused accommodation in the ACT joined together on Wednesday to express their common concern about how badly they have been affected by the recent, unpredictable and rolling series of border lockdowns.

Collectively, the nine businesses provide more than 1000 beds per night for students coming to the ACT from interstate, their visits subsidised largely by the Federal Parliament and Civics Rebate (PACER) scheme.

The scheme was set up to provide students with a hands-on insight into Canberra's democratic, cultural and historical institutions. The scheme aligns directly with the national curriculum.

There are military-like logistics and planning behind bringing the school groups to Canberra, developing their itineraries, managing their transport, catering and dietary requirements.

But since May, the day-to-day uncertainties of border lockdowns have caused schools to put their trips on hold, meaning these local, specialist accommodation providers geared for large group booking now find their rooms empty and their staff laid off or working shorter hours.

Frances Egan-Richards who runs the Carotel in north Watson, said the knock-on effects of the border lockdowns have been financially devastating.

"The Covid border lockdowns have effectively cut off our life support as businesses," she said.

"It's not like our style of accommodation can pivot like other businesses.

"Our budget style of accommodation is geared to this specific market; we are purpose built for school groups.

"The worst thing is that we're now in term 3 of the school year and with no certainty around when the border lockdowns will end, schools are unable to plan their visits with any degree of certainty so they just put everything on hold.

"Given that uncertainty, the prospect for groups returning in term 4 are low to non-existent and then we run into school holidays through to February, so I can't see any volume returning to the student accommodation market until at least March next year."

Meanwhile, ACT tour operators have been excluded from federal government support despite their peers kilometres across the border receiving support packages.

There are also concerns about confidence in booking trips for the remainder of the year once restrictions are lifted and state and territory borders reopen.

A number of territory-based politicians have written letters urging federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to consider expanding support payments to include ACT-based businesses who have been impacted by the sudden drop in tourism.

International Development Minister Senator Zed Seselja last week wrote to Mr Frydenberg, calling on the federal government to co-fund support packages with the ACT Government on a 50/50 basis.

Senator Seselja said he would continue to push the issue with the Treasurer in order to see a similar level of support offered as had been in other jurisdictions.

"I've put the case directly to Treasurer Frydenberg for a support package that would be jointly funded with the ACT government similar to NSW, Victoria and South Australia," he said in a statement.

"The ACT government remains the only state or territory yet to provide any meaningful support for businesses affected by the current outbreaks and it's time for them to step up.

"Delivering a dedicated business support package for ACT businesses remains a high priority for me, and I will continue to discuss the issue with the Treasurer."

Last month, the ACT government allowed hotels and tourism operators in the ACT to claim up to $75,000 in rebates, as part of a territory government support package to help the sector.

Accommodation providers and privately-operated tourism venues will have to show they have suffered a financial loss of at least 30 per cent in July, compared to April, to be eligible for the rebates.

It's expected around 90 accommodation providers and 20 privately owned tourist venues will be eligible.

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Mr Watson said he just wanted to see support for the wider tourism sector, which had been ground to a halt due to ongoing lockdowns.

"The federal government should recognise that support should extend to the businesses that are affected, not just the businesses that are in lockdown areas," he said.

"The federal government has had packages for exporters, packages for zoos, and I'm not disagreeing with any of these packages.

"But there still hasn't been a specific, targeted package for tourism."

Labor Member for Bean David Smith had also been advocating for changes to the rules locking out territory businesses from accessing government support.

He worried there wouldn't be a jump in confidence to travel to the region for the rest of the year.

"It is not only the immediate impact of schools not visiting while areas are locked down, is it also the confidence lag that hangs over future bookings for the rest of the year," Mr Smith said.

"And the same applies more broadly to the accommodation and tourism sector with obvious consequences for Floriade and beyond.

"Obviously the broader economic impacts of a lack of tourism traffic are also felt on the most remote part of the electorate, Norfolk Island. Businesses there are desperately in need of support and the government needs to consider options to support them while Sydney is in lockdown."

The Legislative Assembly last week debated an opposition motion calling for support to businesses, which had experienced revenue drops of 30 per cent or more.

An amended motion by Labor and the Greens supported watered down calls to introduce direct cash support, instead committing the ACT government to working with stakeholders and the Commonwealth to increase support for businesses and workers across the country.

The ACT government has said it is willing to work with the federal government to support industries being affected by the ongoing lockdowns in the country's major cities.

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