Over 32 million people in the U.S. live in the path of totality of the upcoming total solar eclipse. But not everyone is lucky enough to already live along the 60- to 70-mile wide stretch, cutting across 15 U.S. states, and parts of Mexico and Canada, that will see complete darkness for 4 minutes and 28 seconds on Monday, April 8.
Travelers are still clamoring to get in on the action — booking flights, rental cars, and lodgings to catch a glimpse of the event.
Michael Zeiler, an eclipse cartographer at GreatAmericanEclipse.com, estimates that between 931,000 and 3.7 million people will travel from outside the path of totality on the day of the eclipse. The top states expecting travelers are Texas, Indiana, and Ohio, where the eclipse will be visible for the longest time. Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio are the most popular cities along the path of totality, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
And travel-related businesses have been seeing major boosts in those areas as a result. Airbnb data shows a 1,000% increase in searches for stays along the solar eclipse path of totality in the U.S., touting that it has 15 times more listings than there are hotels in the total eclipse’s path.
An image shared by American political scientist Ian Bremmer on X Wednesday showed the high occupancy rates at Airbnbs across the path of totality for the eclipse weekend.
Searches on Expedia similarly soared as much as 1,100% for stays along the path of totality, including in Burlington, Vermont; Little Rock, Arkansas; Dayton, Ohio; Buffalo, New York; and Indianapolis, Indiana, the travel company said last month. Expedia added a feature that allows users to search “Solar Eclipse 2024” in the destination box to find properties within the path of totality for dates around April 8.
And people looking to book hotels will have to pay steep prices to reside in the path. Booking data from AAA showed that hotels in the most popular cities along the path of totality are 48% more expensive during the eclipse weekend than they were at the same time last year.
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Car rental company Hertz reported a 3,000% rise in car rental advanced bookings in cities on the eclipse path for that Saturday, compared with last year.
The frenzy prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to warn fliers that there could be higher air traffic volume than normal at airports along the path of the eclipse, and that passengers should anticipate delays around these peak periods.
For those looking for an even more elevated viewing experience (minus a hotel booking and highway traffic), some airlines, including Alaska, Delta and JetBlue, are offering special flights at the exact time of the eclipse, to be able to view the celestial event from 30,000 feet in the air — giving people the clearest view, since they’re cruising above any potential cloud coverage.