About Byron Bay
More about byron bay
Byron Shire is located on the Far North Coast of NSW and shares boundaries with the Tweed, Lismore and Ballina Local Government Areas.
The Shire is 55,666 hectares in size and the population recorded in the 1996 census was 27,565. The major population centres in the Shire are Byron Bay, Ocean Shores, Mullumbimby, Suffolk Park, Brunswick Heads, South Golden Beach, Bangalow and New Brighton.
Byron Bay is the largest population centre in Byron Shire. It is also the township which experiences the greatest impact, both positive and negative, of tourism. Byron Bay is host to an increasingly high number of tourists, both from within Australia and overseas. No longer restricted to a seasonal influx, tourists visit Byron Bay throughout the year. The resident population of Byron Bay on census nights was 4,569 excluding visitor numbers. (ABS 1996) With the number of visitor nights to the Shire in 1995/96 being 1,642,666 a high proportion of which is focussed on Byron Bay, the social impacts on the town are significant. This has a particular impact on community services, many of which are only funded to meet the needs of the resident population.
Byron Bay is the eastern most point on the eastern seaboard.
For many years Byron Bay has been a popular tourist destination (and promoted as such by the NSW State government- Byron Bay is used as the `hook’ for regional tourism promotion). In particular it has been a popular location for the celebration of New Years Eve since the 1980’s.
Summer Population Growth
Byron Bay is the second most visited tourist destination in NSW. During the Summer Holiday period the Byron Bay community experiences rapid population growth as a result of tourism. It is estimated that the resident population can increase up to 300% during the summer months.
Byron Bay’s tourist accommodation is routinely `booked out’ i.e. it is at maximum occupancy over the Xmas/NYE period.
There is no definitive estimation of the number of tourist beds in Byron Bay. I would say A LOT!!!
Enjoy Byron bay!
