Figures from Service NSW show that as of last Friday, only $750,000 of vouchers valued at $2.5 million had been spent so far, and only 30,346 of 103,348 registered vouchers redeemed.

Serena Hardwick, of the Wagga Business Chamber, said consumers and businesses have to take advantage of the blockbuster week of events in Wagga and get out and spend the money while they can.

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"I would say there needs to be a large push from businesses to promote how and where people can use their vouchers," Ms Hardwick said. "We've got plenty of businesses promoting in line with Gold Cup, pushing afterparties or breakfasts for the day."

"It will be a big weekend for Wagga with lots on so it's a great time to use it."

This weekend will see Wagga host the Gold Cup, the Canberra Raiders play the Newcastle Knights at the Equex Centre and the usual Mother's Day events.

Ms Hardwick said the lack of 'discover' venues registered in Wagga could explain some of the slow uptake, as could the difficulty of tracking down businesses on the official registry.

Vickie Burkinshaw, whose art space cafe The Curious Rabbit is one of the few businesses in Wagga offering discover options, said she has seen a spike in vouchers being used since registering for the experience side of things, and is taking steps to push for more uptake this weekend.

"We've got people coming in for the Gold Cup [and] for the football, so I think that if we can promote Dine and Discover this weekend it's a great opportunity for people to use the voucher," she said.

Ms Burkinshaw is offering specific $25 deals to encourage people to use their voucher in an easy, single spend over the weekend.

Kim Wilson at The Brew was unsurprised at the number of vouchers redeemed, saying uptake hasn't been major for the cafe, but she is hopeful this weekend will see more vouchers used as families gather for big ticket events.

"If people are coming in with their families there might be a bigger uptake this weekend," she said.

"I imagine we would get a bigger uptake on Saturday."

At the William Farrer Hotel, licensee David Barnhill was hopeful that the looming June 30 end date would encourage more customers to use their vouchers, but was doubtful uptake would vastly improve this weekend.

"This weekend people won't be thinking about it, it's more mid-week they'll start to spend," Mr Barnhill predicted. "We need to get people out and using it, it's free money for the region."

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