Byron Bay struggles to cope with influx of celebrities

The idyllic coastal town of Byron Bay is struggling to cope as celebrity residents and holiday-makers flock en masse.

It’s an beachside paradise long beloved by holiday-makers but a sudden surge of interest in Byron Bay has reportedly left it struggling to cope.

Locals in the northern NSW town have complained traffic is heavier, gyms and restaurants are packed, hair and beauty salons have long waiting lists and accommodation options are running low as holiday-makers escape the city for the warmer months, the Daily Mail reports.

Part of the problem is the huge amount of buzz surrounding Byron Bay because of its A-list residents.

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COVID-19 and celebrity attention has made Byron Bay as popular as ever.

The town was thrust into the global spotlight in recent weeks amid reports Hollywood star Zac Efron was looking to move there after meeting his new girlfriend, Byron local Vanessa Valladare.

Efron was understood to have arrived in Australia just before international borders closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and had no plans to return to the United States anytime soon.

He would join the towns other high-profile residents including Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky, Liam Hemsworth, Isabel Lucas, Elyse Knowles, Olivia Newton-John, along with A-list visitors like Matt Damon.

Zac Efron has been seen out and about in Byron.

Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky are two of the town’s most famous residents.

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But he wasn’t the only one attracted to Byron Bay, with lesser-known holiday-makers from Sydney flocking to the town as interstate travel restrictions and closed international borders limit holiday options.

Meanwhile the local real estate market is the strongest it’s been in five years, Ray White real estate agent Matthew McCormack told the Daily Mail.

Vacancy rates in the northern NSW town are low.

“It’s cutthroat at the moment, you’ve got to have your cash ready to go,” he said.

“The council is not very proactive with developments, and that’s preventing people from building here.”

Meanwhile, the outlet reported production of Nicole Kidman’s latest TV project, Nine Perfect Strangers, has taken 60 local properties out of action.

Byron Bay shire has a population of about 30,000 which swells annually by a total of around 200,000 over all the holidays including Christmas-New Year and the Byron Bay Blues Festival, its busiest periods.

Originally published as Byron Bay struggles to cope with influx of celebrities