It may not have taken out the top prize, but NSW top tourism contender Lightning Ridge is busier than ever, and filled to the brim with visitors fighting for accommodation.

After a worrying slump through years of flooding and Covid-19, the heavily tourism reliant town is back in action ahead of their annual opal festival. 

“In July we’re expecting anywhere from six to eight thousand (visitors) for the month,” said acting manager of the Visitor Information Centre Sue Millward. 

While the businesses have thrived off the tourism, the high numbers have meant that not everyone gets to stay for long. Despite having five caravan parks, there isn’t room for every traveller. 

“People get disappointed and go to other places, or they pull off the road and camp in their cars,” Ms Millward said. 

 “We don’t have any free camping out here, which would really help ease off a lot of it,” she said. 

Although existing caravan parks have been able to thrive, the lack of accommodation in busy periods has led to safety concerns for tourists. 

Beyond the legalities of trespassing, using local private property to camp on is a major safety hazard in an area where so many mining plots surround the town. 

“There’s ones that we find have gone off into the bush on someone else’s property out on the fields and places that are quite dangerous to park themselves up for the night,” Ms Millward said.

Overall though, more visitors brings optimism to the district. 

Walgett Shire Council mayor Jane Keir said that in a time where the farming community has been struggling with a lack of rainfall, the tourism numbers have brightened the mood.

“Lightning Ridge is bumping along fantastically…tourism out there is ‘chockablock’,” Cr Keir said. 

Being featured in Australian television show Outback Opal Hunters hasn’t hurt the town’s popularity either. 

“It’s created more interest for families to come out…that’s been going on for a few years now,” Ms Millward said. 

It’s a happily stark contrast to late last year, where the local information centre reported a drop of 4,000 visitors from pre-pandemic years, and was struggling to maintain their staffing levels.

Lightning Ridge was vying for the 2023 Tiny Top Tourism Town award, competing against nine other towns with under 1500 residents, losing out to Jervis Bay town Huskisson.