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Cities across central and southern Indiana, including the entire metro Indianapolis area, were in the path of totality for the April 8 solar eclipse, creating a once-in-a-lifetime tourism opportunity for cities along the route.
For this eclipse, the path of totality—the roughly 100-mile-wide swath along the eclipse route where observers see the moon totally obscure the sun—included Evansville, Bloomington, Indianapolis and its suburbs, and Muncie, among a number of other cities.
Hundreds of events large and small took place along the path of totality, some drawing tens of thousands of spectators. In downtown Indianapolis, for instance, an event at White River State Park drew about 30,000 people, while the Indianapolis Motor Speedway sold 50,000 tickets for an event that served as one of several live broadcast sites for NASA’s eclipse coverage.
Given the event’s unique nature, planners were not quite sure what to expect or how many visitors to anticipate. Public safety officials had warned of potential downtown Indianapolis gridlock that did not materialize, and some gatherings were smaller than anticipated.
But the eclipse was still a significant tourism event for the state, according to an economic impact report released in June by the Indiana Destination Development Corp.
That report, produced by Pennsylvania-based Rockport Analytics LLC, concluded that the eclipse drove a net increase of 660,000 day visitors and 450,000 overnight visitors around Indiana. Those visitors spent $148.5 million April 5-9 on food, lodging and other purchases. This was net new spending, the report said, meaning it would not have happened if not for the eclipse.•
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