Tourism insights: how peak holiday season is panning out

Crescent Head Learn to Surf School owner Dundee Sinclair said the crowds converged on the town but he thought people didn't have as much money to spend as in the past.

"I think people are budgeting a bit," Mr Sinclair said.

The learn to surf school attracts tourists from areas such as Sydney's eastern suburbs and northern beaches, as well as country areas.

Mr Sinclair teaches ocean safety as part of his surfing lessons.

"You really need to know what you are doing out there and ocean knowledge is the first and most important step," he said.

The Hello Koalas Sculpture Trail is a popular activity on many tourists' to-do lists.

The Macleay, Hastings and Camden Haven regions are all home to koala sculptures.

In the Macleay, Kempsey Train Station and the Slim Dusty Centre each features a koala sculpture.

Hello Koalas project director Margret Meagher said she had fielded a lot of inquiries about the sculpture trail during this busy time.

The award-winning sculpture trail, which promotes koala conservation, features 84 one metre-high koala sculptures and the 2.5 metre-high Big Koala.

"A lot of people are really interested to see our Big Koala at Guulabaa," Mrs Meagher said.

The Big Koala, created by industrial artist John Belfield and painted by Pauline Roods, forms part of Guulabaa, a tourism precinct in the Cowarra State Forest.

Meanwhile, Hello Koalas sculpture, Crusader Koala by artist Dale Leach, recently arrived to take up residence at WildNets Adventure Park, at Guulabaa.

"Crusader Koala is a champion for threatened species in the forest and the sculpture design is a perfect fit for WildNets' focus on preserving Australian wildlife," Mrs Meagher.

A boat hire business has experienced an "unbelievable" holiday season with strong demand from customers.

Father and son team Brian and Jake Adams launched North Haven-based business BJA Boats just before Christmas 2022.

The barbecue boats have been booked out most days, while the tinny hire side of the business has also been in demand.

"Given the amount of people in town this Christmas and having the best weather around Christmas time for years, it really was a good time to launch [the business]," Jake said.

"It has set a high benchmark, because there are so many people in town."

Tourists from as far as Victoria and the Tweed region have hired the boats on the Camden Haven River.

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