When the moon brought the state into darkness, Nebraska’s tourism industry was in the spotlight. An economic impact study done by Dean Runyan Associates and Destination Analysts, Inc. regarding the Great American Eclipse estimates that over 708,000 people traveled to watch the Eclipse in Nebraska in August.
Approximately 87 percent of those from out-of-state, making the eclipse Nebraska’s greatest single tourist event on record.
“This data confirms the magnitude of the solar eclipse’s impact and we couldn’t be more pleased,” said John Ricks, Nebraska Tourism executive director. “The amazing one-time event was big business for our industry and beyond. We hope travelers were inspired to share stories about their Nebraska experience and to visit again.”
According to the study:
● The economic impact across the state totaled an estimated $127 million, from lodging and travel expenditures
● On average, visitors spent three days in the state
● Nearly 93 percent of out-of-state visitors said the eclipse was the reason for their visit to Nebraska. 60.6 percent of out-of-state visitors said they would not have made this trip to Nebraska has it not been for the Solar Eclipse
●Prior to this trip, 70.9 percent of out-of-state visitors had not visited Nebraska in the past three years on a leisure trip. However, when asked, nearly 40 percent said they are likely to visit Nebraska in the next 2 years; 45 percent said they are likely to return in the next 2-5 years
● Media coverage of the event also provided free publicity with an estimated value over $133 million