Eclipse anticipation fires up tourist trade
Hotels, campsites fill as people get ready for lights to go out
“Our hotels and campgrounds saw reservations as long as three years ago and have maintained a nearly sold-out status since August of last year.” Anne Wilcox, EclipseCasper.com
Call it coast-to-coast ka-ching! A mere two or three minutes of darkness during the total solar eclipse Aug. 21 is bringing in millions of tourist dollars from Oregon to South Carolina as hotels, campgrounds, restaurants and museums enjoy a phenomenal boon to business.
Nashville, the largest U.S. city entirely in the path of the total eclipse, estimates 50,000-75,000 visitors will stay overnight and spend a total of $15 million to $20 million, said Heather Middleton of the city’s tourism board, VisitMusicCity.com.
“Since this is an event that’s never happened before, it’s difficult to know exactly,” she said.
More than 100,000 people are expected to visit Salem, Ore., the first big city that will see the eclipse, Kara Kuh of TravelSalem.com said. That almost doubles the town’s population for the day.
“We can definitely say that restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores and other retail shops are going to be extremely busy in the days leading up to and just after the event,” she said.
Hotels are about 95% full, and campgrounds in state parks are fully booked, Kuh said. The estimated economic impact from the event: $9 million, she said.
Southeastern Idaho could see 300,000 to 500,000 people for the eclipse, said Kerry Hammon, spokeswoman for the city of Ida- ho Falls, pop. 60,000. She said all hotel rooms in the area are booked “for very high prices.”
City parks as well as farmers’ fields in the area will become makeshift camping areas for RVs and tents, Hammon said.
Farther inland, Casper, Wyo., is the city with the best chance of clear skies of any location in the path of the eclipse. About 35,000 people should be in town for the event, said Anne Wilcox of EclipseCasper.com.
“Our hotels and campgrounds saw reservations as long as three years ago and have maintained a nearly sold-out status since August of last year,” she said.
St. Joseph, Mo. expects 50,000 to 500,000 visitors over the weekend and the day of the eclipse, said Beth Carmichael of the city’s tourism bureau. The town’s population is 76,000.
“Not only are our hotels sold out, but as residents, we have a lot of friends and family coming in for the eclipse,” she said. “I have six out-of-town relatives coming, and I’ve heard as many as 20 people coming to stay in some houses here in town.”
In St. Louis, only southern parts of the metro area will see the total eclipse. Still, Anthony Paraino, director of communication for Explore St. Louis, said the city expects thousands of visitors.
“We’ve had a spike in hotel bookings” for Aug. 20 and 21, he said. Thousands of hotel rooms are still available for this “oncein-a-lifetime” experience, he said.
The prime eclipse viewing is 20 minutes from the downtown area, so Paraino urged visitors to “come to St. Louis and drive a bit further south.”
In South Carolina, the last state to see the eclipse, NASA predicts 1 million visitors to the state overall.
Airbnb reported Aug. 20 will be its biggest night in South Carolina.
Both the state’s capital of Columbia and its most populous city, Charleston, are ready for the big day.
In Columbia, almost all of the area’s 11,600 hotel rooms are booked, says Andrea Mensink of ExperienceColumbiaSC.com. In all, she said, there will be more than 120 eclipse events across the region. Total estimated attendance is more than 166,000, she said.
The eclipse has caused a spike in stories about Columbia, S.C. About 250 regional, national and international pieces have been written this year, far above the annual average of about 95 stories, Mensink said.
“For our region, this is phenomenal,” she said.
Restaurants normally closed Sunday and Monday will open to welcome guests, Mensink said.
The South Carolina State Museum conservatively estimated it will generate $235,000 from eclipse-related activities, said Merritt M. McNeely, director of museum marketing. It has sold tickets to visitors from 23 states and eight foreign countries.
In Charleston, the last city to see the total eclipse, “we do not have a projection for number of visitors,” said Doug Warner of the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “As this is such an out-of-the-norm experience, we have no way to project.
“We can, however, say that occupancy for Friday–Monday evening is running 90-95% throughout our community,” Warner said.