APRIL 8, 2024 — Editor’s note: The San Antonio Express-News ran the following op-ed online on (March 17) and in print on (March 18).
The total solar eclipse on April 8 is predicted to attract up to 3.7 million visitors in the 15 states where it will occur and stimulate the nation’s economy by up to $1 billion.
In Texas alone, an anticipated 180,000 to 720,000 visitors to the path of totality could translate into $285 million of revenue for local businesses. Given that the total eclipse will cross Texas for a total of 22 minutes, this gain could be the largest revenue generation per minute in the state of Texas’ 179-year history.
Several factors will make it possible.
First, the total solar eclipse will pass through three of the four most populous metro areas in Texas: San Antonio, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth. Nearly 13 million Texans live in the path of totality and will be able to observe this unique event.
At the same time, the eclipse’s trajectory from Texas to Maine will require eclipse enthusiasts in the western half of the United States to travel to the nearest state where it will occur to observe it, and it is Texas for six of those states' residents.
Texas’ vast highway network, which is the largest in the nation, will make traveling convenient for visitors, further increasing the likelihood they will choose to travel to the state. That ease of mobility, coupled with typically mild April weather, will make Texas an ideal destination for tourists seeking to experience this celestial phenomenon.
Using revenue and visitor numbers reported by Nebraska and South Carolina after the 2017 eclipse as a guide, we project these visitors could spend an estimated $31 million to $124 million in Texas.
That spending has the potential to stimulate the state’s economy by another $40 million to $161 million, because the money spent will exchange hands again in subsequent spending, a dynamic economists call the multiplier effect.
Texas’ status as a high consumption state is another factor that will increase the economic impact of the eclipse on the state economy. Because every dollar spent is spent again by the businesses that receive it, each $1 stimulates the economy by another $1.29 in Texas (versus only 64 cents in the U.S. on average). This means that the up to $124 million eclipse observers are expected to spend in Texas initially will likely end up stimulating the state economy by up to $285 million.
The best part? Each visitor to Texas will have the opportunity to become familiar with the Lone Star State, and enjoy the beauty, hospitality, food and culture that the state has offered to all for generations.
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