Blue Mountains. Surge in visitors

A record-smashing late surge in day visitors to the Upper Mountains helped bring about an overall good trading result for most tourist-related businesses leading up to New Year’s Day, following a rainy Christmas, according to the Blue Mountains Gazette. Queues at the tourist bus stops on Katoomba Street stretched beyond 30 metres at times and there was traffic gridlock on Katoomba, Main and Parke Streets. Carrington Hotel co-owner, Mark Jarvis, said the Katoomba Chamber of Commerce’s Christmas shopping initiative proved to be successful and the town was very busy after Christmas. Leura Village Association president, Mark Alchin, said while the early rain kept some people away, it made shopping in the town the thing to do. “Since Christmas, it’s been choc-a-bloc in Leura.”