Billion dollars could be spent during April 8 eclipse, experts say

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The tourism industry is expected to see one of -- if not the biggest -- economic events of the year during the April 8 eclipse. Experts say more than a billion dollars will likely be spent on hotels, travel and dining in cities along the eclipse path. This includes major cities like Austin and Dallas, but also in smaller towns throughout the Texas Hill Country and the Midwest.

"It's such a big event for the travel industry. And there are so many different sectors that are able to make money off this," said Hollie McKay, Vice President of Communications with HotelPlanner.com.

Thirty-two million people live in the path of the eclipse, the last in the United States until 2044. Compare that to the last total solar eclipse over the United States in 2017, where around twelve million people lived in the path, according to NASA.

The 2017 eclipse provides clues to the expected impact of this eclipse.

"Our estimated economic impact from the 2017 Eclipse was about $270 million," said Sam Queen, Communications Director for South Carolina's Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department.

According to Queen, around 1.6 million traveled to see the 2017 eclipse in South Carolina alone. About 800,000 of those were from out of state.

How much of that money is going to Austin?

Austin, TX is one of the major cities along the path of totality and is forecasted to be one of the major beneficiaries of the event. "I think in addition to just the Eclipse, it's also what Austin is that's going to bring the traffic into Austin," said Raji Srinivasan, a marketing professor at University of Texas' McCombs School of Business.

Austin businesses have noticed the excitement. Hotels in Downtown Austin on April 7th, the night before the eclipse, are charging double what they plan to charge the following Sunday, according to Expedia.com.

"You've got hotels, like the Four Seasons and the Hilton, that are doing quite fancy affairs on their rooftop. And then it's falling on a Monday. So you're looking at people making a long weekend out," McKay said.

This long weekend will also play a role. "If it was a Wednesday, for example, that things might be different," Srinivasan said. The 2017 eclipse, for instance, fell on a Thursday.

Small towns and the economic boom

Big cities will see the impact, but it will likely be the Texas Hill Country who will benefit the most.

"I think a lot of people will go to Austin because they want the music and they want that sort of city vibe experience. And then there are other people that will choose to go to a much more rural area and have a much more sort of quiet countryside experience with the Eclipse," McKay said.

Queen said that this was something South Carolina experienced in 2017.

"In what we call our undiscovered South Carolina, all these small places that just happen to fall along that path of totality, they really benefited from the extra travel and the extra incentive to come to South Carolina for this event," Queen said.

Added promotion over the past few years has allowed these towns, like Dripping Spring and Fredericksburg, to plan for the event and really capitalize on it. Queen said something similar happened in towns in South Carolina.

"When you see the city of Columbia, for example, named as a top place in the country to view the eclipse, if you don't take advantage of that, it's a missed opportunity," Queen said.

Will Texas make money off the eclipse?

We reached out to Governor Gregg Abbott's office to learn more about what they were expecting. They said they will not have actual data until after the eclipse. Currently, they said the trends that economists thought would occur are doing just that.

"Hotel bookings for April are well ahead of where they were at this time last year. Communities around the state have created special eclipse programming, events, and packages for visitors and locals to make the most of this rare event while exploring other tourism offerings in the state," said Andrew Mahaleris with the governor's office.