By now, most Americans should have heard about what’s going to happen on Monday, April 8. On that day, about four million Americans will get in their cars and drive into a seemingly random path just 115 miles wide that stretches across parts of Mexico, 15 U.S. states and Canada. Those visitors could spend a lot of money.
While everyone else in North America will see a “meh” partial solar eclipse, those who live or travel to the path will experience totality—a brief view of the sun’s spiky white corona—as the moon drifts across it to create an indescribably powerful “hole in the sky” moment.
Totality leaves the average viewer completely gobsmacked. Sometimes in tears. It’s a rare and priceless moment—and it could be hugely profitable to switched-on communities.
Unusual Position
A total solar eclipse tends to visit a particular place about once every 375 years. For a country the size of the U.S. it’s more common than that, of course, but 50 or 100 years can go past without one. The U.S. is in the highly unusual position of having had its last total solar eclipse less than seven years ago.
Although as many as four times the number that traveled into the path of totality on August 21, 2017 are expected to do so this April 8, what happened back then has proved a unique and illuminating guide for communities and cities lucky enough to be inside the path of totality in 2024.
‘Eclipseville’ Example
One of the most memorable publicity campaigns in 2017 was from tiny Hopkinsville, Kentucky, which changed its name for one day to “Eclipseville” to mark the longest duration totality anywhere on the path at 2 minutes 40 seconds. Its marketing spend of $3 million reaped $30 million from 48,000 visitors. Few small towns can match that budget, but the playbook is there to follow.
One follower is Lebanon, Indiana, a town within the path of totality that hopes a marketing spend of $125,000 will double or triple its population of 17,000 on April 8 and could generate $1.2-$1.5 million in economic impact. “That would be a major win economically, and it would also be validating,” said Joe LePage, CFRM Communications & Community Development, Lebanon, Indiana, in an interview. Lebanon is one of the forgotten “donut counties” around Indianapolis. “We did a lot of benchmarking with a lot of similar-sized communities, but Hopkinsville was the poster child for how to do it,” said LePage.
Going Local
Lebanon decided to go local, targeting the Greater Lafayette area—a community of 250,000 people on the cusp of the path—just 35 miles north on Interstate 65. Lebanon’s marketing spend may be low compared to cities, but it could have a major impact if the same 10x economic multiplicity that Hopkinsville achieved. “We want to have not only a great event for local people and visitors but also one that will benefit our local economy,” said LePage. “If you market it, they will come—but at the very least we’ll recoup the money.”
Another small community in Indiana, Johnson County, will host Eclipse Festival 2024 in Franklin, south of Indianapolis, and expects $10-$25 million to be added to the local economy, according to the Daily Journal. That’s based on the example of Casper, Wyoming, in 2017, which saw a $7.53 million impact.
Early Organizers
Perhaps the earliest to realize the opportunity this coming eclipse represents was Rochester, New York, which has been preparing for four years for its 3 minutes and 38 seconds of totality. “We’ll have a weekend of festivals, events and activities, and the whole town is just going to be brimming with excitement—everyone under the sun is a stakeholder,” said Rachel Laber Pulvino, vice president of communications at Visit Rochester, in an interview. It was confirmed long ago that schools will be closed on April 8 in the city, which will stage the Roc the Eclipse festival at the Rochester Museum & Science Center. “Everyone can be outside and can take part—it’s a real community effort, with everything planned being built for locals but also so visitors will choose Rochester for their eclipse vacation,” said Laber Pulvino.
Visit Rochester expects 375-500,000 on Monday, April 8—most from major cities like New York City and Boston—though many are staying Sunday through Tuesday thanks ot its #TakeTuesdayToo. The direct economic impact is estimated at $10 to $12 million.
Missed Opportunity
The eclipse will happen whether communities prepare or not, but not all have such a joined-up approach. On April 8, the largest city in the path of totality will be the Dallas-Fort Worth megalopolis, where as many as 7.5 million people will have one of nature’s rarest and grandest experiences. “Each city in DFW acts as if they’re their own entity instead of looking at what we could do as a region,” said Jo Trizila, founder and CEO of TrizCom PR & Pitch PR, in an interview. “If we’d pooled our resources together, imagine the advertising campaigns we could have had.”
Trizila, who in the absence of any unified approach in Dallas, set up Total Eclipse DFW as a go-to resource, thinks 20% could be added to the region’s population on April 8. “Hotel bookings are up by 400%, so they are coming,” she said. Schools in some small communities will close on April 8, but others will remain open. “Only a fraction of schools are equipped with the necessary eye protection,” said Trizila. “So thousands of students will miss out on what is truly a once-in-a-lifetime event.”
Visit Dallas is now publicizing a few events in Downtown Dallas, but the lack of a central organizer has created apathy and a scatter-gun approach. “New York’s governor has been issuing press releases about how excited they are to welcome visitors and for the residents to experience this—they have done a really really good job,” said Trizila. “I wish our city leaders were coming out—it’s just dumbfounding.”
The Next Eclipse
Will lessons be learned for the next big total solar eclipse in the U.S? The moon’s shadow is rarely as kind to one country as it has been to the U.S, but there’s a long wait until the next coast-to-coast total solar eclipse on August 12, 2045. Maybe by then a generation of people will be in-post that grew up seeing two total solar eclipses—and will instantly know how seriously to treat the coming of the moon’s central shadow.
For the latest on all aspects of April 8’s total solar eclipse in North America, check my main feed for new articles each day.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
