Up to 1 million people could flock to the Lone Star State over the weekend ahead of Monday's total solar eclipse. Cities along the path of totality, which runs from Eagle Pass and Del Rio through the Hill Country to Dallas-Fort Worth, are planning festivals and events to capitalize.
What economic impact will eclipse-related tourism have on the state's economy?
“Whatever the impact, it is a moment in time. It’s really short,” said SMU economics professor Dr. Cullum Clark. “Then people turn around and go home. So things like that don't inherently have a particularly big impact. This is like when Dallas hosted the Super Bowl or something. Several years there will be a lot of people, but they will kind of come in and leave.
Still, for cities in the path of totality like Del Rio, the eclipse presents a unique opportunity to welcome thousands of people to the city.
“Just attending this eclipse as a business can generate a 20% increase in sales throughout the weekend,” said Bethany Gonzalez of the Del Rio Chamber. “So we held a few community meetings and kind of encouraged small businesses: ‘Hey, this is the time you want to have some specials. They want to have this street sale because the visitors will be here.' This is a great time to promote your business.''
Music is also a big part of the Eclipse festivals this weekend. Rick Redmond, who organized the Cosmic Cowboy Eclipse Festival in Hillsboro, said they made a conscious effort to book artists like Pat Green and Kevin Fowler.
“Most festivals are more, I would say, DJ-driven, like rap music, techno music,” he said. “We did a country western because Hillsboro is pretty much a country town. It’s not far from the big cities, but it’s still a working-class country town.”
In February, Bell County Judge David Blackburn made headlines when he preemptively declared a state of emergency due to an expected influx of people wanting to view the eclipse.
“One of the reasons is that with this statement we have submitted a list of resources, which are primarily equipment that we may need or that we see a need for. And most of it is traffic control equipment,” he said. “The declaration allowed us to submit these lists early and hopefully put the state in a position that when these resources are available from the state and we need them, they can be obtained much more efficiently.”
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