Eclipse Tourists Spend up to $1.6 Billion As Motels, Skydives Sell Out

• Millions of tourists are expected to boost the economies of Texas and New York during the eclipse.
• Hotels, an eyewear manufacturer and even skydiving companies are preparing to expand their operations.
• One study predicts that the eclipse could benefit the U.S. economy by nearly $1.6 billion.

As millions of Americans prepare to view the total solar eclipse on Monday – an event NASA has called rare and “spectacular” – the phenomenon is also expected to boost local economies.

Various industries are poised to benefit from the millions of tourists flocking to cities in Texas, Ohio and New York, which lie in the eclipse’s “path of totality” and offer the best views of the eclipse. ring around the sun.

According to NASA, this year’s eclipse is expected to last three to four minutes, longer than the last solar eclipse in 2017. People who miss this one won’t be able to see another one in the contiguous United States until 2044. or 2045, the agency said.

Up to 3.7 million people are expected to travel to the eclipse’s path, joining the 31 million people already living along the stretch, according to forecasts from the eclipse tracking website Great American Eclipse.

Visitors are expected to spend big: They will shell out as much as $1.6 billion for lodging, activities, food and gas, according to a Texas-based economic consulting firm. Perryman Group Estimates.

Here are some of the industries that saw a big boost thanks to Monday’s eclipse.

Hotels and Airbnbs book

Budget hotel chain Super 8 has more than 300 properties in the path of totality, according to the New York Times. Around a hundred of these hotels are fully booked on Sunday or Monday, according to the hotel chain’s website.

A two-star Super 8 branch in Grayville, Illinois, offers rooms for $765 to $949 Sunday through Tuesday. Most of the time, rooms typically cost $80, the Super 8 website says.

High-end hotels are also seeing similar increases. A JW Marriott in Dallas listed a standard room for $1,039 for Sunday night. It usually costs between $355 and $482, the website says.

Visitors are also flocking to Airbnbs. As of March 25, April 7 occupancy rates have climbed to 88% among 110,000 active listings on the path to fullness, according to vacation rental data firm AirDNA.

The largest eyewear maker sold its inventory

People can permanently damage their eyesight by looking directly at the sun during an eclipse, which is why NASA recommends specific solar-filtering glasses.

Eye protection guidelines have translated into huge sales for some eyewear manufacturers.

Tennessee-based American Paper Optics, the nation’s largest producer of eclipse glasses, saw sales increase significantly compared to the last total eclipse in 2017.

The company began taking eclipse orders two years in advance, John Jerit, the company’s founder, told NPR Friday. The glasses sold for between $1.50 and $2 each.

“We’ve already shipped about 70 million glasses, and I think I’ll get close to 75 million by next week,” Jerit said.

American Paper Optics sold out of its glasses this year, having produced about 30 million more glasses than for the 2017 total solar eclipse, according to a sales figure posted on the company’s website.

Eclipse skydiving attracts thrill-seekers

Some adrenaline junkies looking for a new viewpoint consider jumping during totality to enjoy the darkness of the sky.

A group of 30 skydivers plans to jump in northern New York on Monday, Fox News reported. Tickets for the dive, organized by local company Skydive the Falls, sold out within seven minutes of going online in January.

“We’re going to jump a minute before totality, so we can take full advantage of totality under our parachutes,” Jason Berger, co-owner of Skydive the Falls, told Fox News.

A similar event in Dallas also sold its skydive tickets for an eclipse of $249.

For sun watchers on the ground, restaurants make the most of the celestial phenomenon with eclipse menus and specialties. Establishments like Smoothie King, Applebees and Sonic are offering special eclipse-themed smoothies, margaritas and “blackout” drinks to mark the occasion.