It had been a "pretty steady" week at the Royal Albatross Centre, operations manager Chris McCormack said.
Many locals were making the most of its 30-minute tours to make a "quick visit" to see the albatrosses while they were exploring the peninsula, he said.
About half the visitors to the centre during the year came from the North Island, and that trend continued last week.
"But we tend to see a slight increase of locals during the school holidays, when families are out and about.
"With the New Zealand International Science Festival in town, I think there is probably a few more visitors around exploring, which is quite nice," Mr McCormack said.
The centre was estimating this summer would be similar to last year, given the absence of international tourists.
Larnach Castle owner Norcombe Barker said the number of visitors to the castle during the first week of the holidays was up on last year.
Before the school holidays, visitor numbers were "patchy" but he was thrilled with the support from locals, Mr Barker said.
Traditionally this time of the year was quiet at Larnach Castle, so maintenance projects and renovations were carried out.
Visitors to the castle last week were a mix of Dunedin locals and people from out of town.
He also believed the science festival would be bringing people to the city.
Port to Port Cruises and Wildlife Tours owner Rachel McGregor said the first week of school holidays had been steady, but it was definitely quieter than previous school holidays.
There had been much interest in the shorter tours, which suited children, she said.
"People ask me nowadays if we are busy but I’m never quite sure what to say because some days we are busy and some days we are quiet."
The opening of the transtasman bubble had not brought many tourists into the Dunedin area, Ms McGregor said.
"We have had a few Australians trickling in with their families but that hasn’t helped [business], I don’t think."
Port to Port Cruises and Wildlife Tours had changed the way it operated to focus more on the local market anyway.
"I’m pretty happy with the way that things are with the locals. Tourists do the more expensive tours, but they are more expensive to operate."
The school holidays finish on July 25.
