Tourism operators on the NSW Mid North Coast say last week's flooding rain dealt a particularly significant blow as the emergency fell as the busy school holiday period was well underway.

The region received record-breaking rainfall which lead to evacuation orders for parts of Tuncurry and Buladelah on Wednesday night.

For most business owners in Forster-Tuncurry, a prime tourist destination during school holidays, the wet weather has put a damper on trade.

Manager of the Forster Dive Centre, Adam Clarke, has been unable to run dive tours since the massive rain event which saw between 200-300 millimetres fall on the region in just 24 hours.

"At the moment the water is chocolate brown," he said.

"We had tours booked for the weekend that have since been cancelled."

The centre had been completely booked out.

"A lot of our tourism comes from Newcastle and Sydney, so when the weather hit them that created a ripple effect on us," Mr Clarke said.

Flood-proof the future

The frequency of the flooding events in the region has prompted calls from Business NSW for the state government to look at longer-term strategies to protect regional businesses.

Regional manager of Business NSW, Kellon Beard, said infrastructure was needed to be put in place to flood-proof low-lying townships.

"It's had an impact on a lot of businesses, and because of the blockage to roads and also with people being affected in their homes they haven't been able to go to work," he said.

Two of the main access roads from the Pacific Highway into Forster-Tuncurry were cut off last Wednesday.

Mr Clarke said the road being cut lead to additional cancellations as people were unsure when it would re-open.

While Coffs Harbour escaped major flooding, Neil Manson from the Observatory Holiday Apartments said this rain event, and others, have had an impact.

He said forward booking rates have dropped significantly this winter compared to previous years.

He believed people were scared to commit to forward bookings in part due to the uncertainty and frequent flooding events over the past 12 months.

"They all seem to combine and people have lost confidence in forward bookings."

Cautiously optimistic

Nick Jacobs is the general manager of a Forster-Tuncurry holiday park on the Coolongolook River that was forced to evacuate several hundred residents on Wednesday night due to a rapidly rising tide.

The holiday-goers stayed in a nearby evacuation centre in Tuncurry before being allowed back on Thursday morning.

He said while there was a clean-up effort, he felt thankful there was no significant damage. 

"We are certainly feeling very blessed compared to so many other people that have been seriously adversely affected," he said.

Mr Jacobs said his business and many others in town are optimistic for the second week of school holidays.

"That's the beauty of regional New South Wales … there's such a sense of community spirit," he said.