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We’re exactly one month out from the total solar eclipse on April 8 that will blanket North America — the last of its kind until 2044.
And the sun is taking a page out of Taylor Swift’s book, causing big economic ripples in small towns. The 10 cities along the path of totality (i.e., where you can see a total eclipse) are experiencing tourism surges.
This happened back in 2017 during the last total eclipse: South Carolina saw 793k out-of-state visitors spend $269m, and Wyoming welcomed 473k tourists who spent $167m.
April’s planetary event is shaping up to be even bigger:
- Between 931k and 3.72m people could travel to the path of totality on eclipse day, according to GreatAmericanEclipse.com’s data model.
- All those travelers could mean total spending between $321m and $1.28B.
- Kayak has seen hotel searches increase 15x for the dates around April 8 compared to the year prior, and flight searches are up 304%.
In Mazatlan, Mexico — one of the cities along the path of totality that is most likely to have favorable viewing conditions — demand for flights is up 950%+ YoY.
Delta even added a second special eclipse flight from Dallas to Detroit after its Austin-to-Detroit flight sold out.
Eclipse economy
While visitors spending money and stimulating the local economy is certainly a good thing, the sudden rush of tourists is new for some small US cities.
Little Rock, Arkansas, has a population of just ~200k+, but is expecting 100k+ eclipse visitors. In Preble County, Ohio, local businesses are introducing eclipse-themed products for the expected ~40k+ visitors — 2x the county’s population.
If you’re in the path of totality, don’t forget to wear your protective glasses. And if you can’t stomach the price of a plane ticket, maybe some eclipse merch can soften the blow?