Total Solar Eclipse a Big Draw for Campgrounds Across U.S. – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
The total solar eclipse of the sun that occurred on Monday (April 8) appears to have been an economic boon for parks across the country that were within the path of totality.
Woodall’s Campground Magazine (WCM) Editor Ben Quiggle stayed at the Sandusky/Bayshore KOA Holiday in Ohio over the past weekend to take in the eclipse and noted that the park filled over 100 of its 300-plus sites for the event. The park typically doesn’t open until May 1. WCM is a sister publication of RVBusiness.
“We have never been open this early before and with the way the weather has been warmer in April and even sometimes through November, we are going to make this kind of a trial run to see if we can expand the season,” explained Ashlee Gooding, general manager of the family-owned park along with her husband, Alex Gooding. “I know there are a lot of people that look for places that are open in April.”
Rachel Godbout, COO of Advanced Outdoor Management (AOM), told WCM that its parks in New York were sold out and had waiting lists of campers wanting to view the eclipse.
“We pre-sold packages with glasses and t-shirts, and all bookings were a two-night minimum,” she highlighted.
Its parks that were sold out included Bedford Creek RV (230 sites), Lake Bluff RV (178 sites), Willows on the Lake (109 sites), Junius Ponds (241 sites) and Branson RV (41 sites). Branson typically opens on April 15, while the other parks would typically open later.
Of course, Texas was one of the most popular destinations for the once-in-a-generation event. Millions of people took in the event, despite the risk of severe weather in some areas. Noted Texas economist Ray Perryman estimated that the eclipse could bring in more than $400 million to the state’s economy, a number dwarfed by the downstream and multiplier effects figure of $1.4 billion in expected economic impacts statewide.
KCEN reported that gather Campground in Belton saw droves of people coming in from all across the country to see the once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon.
“We’ve had people come from Florida, Oklahoma and California,” Owner Garrett Weber-Gale said. “We have people here from Massachusetts and Michigan, all over the place. There is someone who drove in from Arizona yesterday in one straight shot and got here last night.
“We’re brand new, started Feb. 1,” Weber-Gale added. “A lot of folks made reservations for the eclipse a year ago. We’ve gotten a lot of reservations for the eclipse in the past month.”
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