Thousands of visitors expected in Ohio for solar eclipse. How will it impact the economy?

Ohio is a hot ticket for the April 8 solar eclipse, with the state expected to attract anywhere from 139,000 to 556,000 visitors inside the line of totality, according to estimates from the website GreatAmericanEclipse.com.

As people arrive, there will be significant demand for lodging, food and entertainment.

“It’s a big event. There’s nothing bigger really,” said Brent Sohngen, professor of agricultural, environmental, and development economics at Ohio State University. “I don’t think you can overemphasize that.”

Hotels are already filling up with reservations, and businesses are looking to take advantage. Cedar Point is even opening up early for one day only to observe the eclipse.

Those visiting the Buckeye State are in addition to the 7,275,000 people who live within the path of totality in Ohio.

“We are doing some tracking on this with hotels that are in the path of the eclipse and there definitely is increased demand, especially along the center line and in areas of bigger population,” said Joe Savarise, president and CEO of the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association.

Ohio hotels are booking up fast for April’s solar eclipse

In Stark County, over 70% of hotel rooms tracked by Visit Canton are booked for the eclipse. Meanwhile, visitors bureaus in Summit and Cuyahoga County said hotels are experiencing high demand, particularly for the night before the eclipse.

Savarise said there are 700 hotels in the state that are within the path of totality in Ohio. An additional 731 hotels are in areas of the partial solar eclipse. There are also a number of campgrounds and other rentals such as Airbnbs and VRBOs.

“What we encourage people to do is No. 1, search for and book your room as quickly as you can because every day availability gets tighter and tighter,” he said. “Also, there definitely are some parts of the state where there is higher demand right now, but not far away from there, still in really good viewing areas, there might be more availability in towns along the path.”

The Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association has been preparing for the eclipse since before 2023. Savarise said the event is an economic opportunity.

What’s the economic impact of the eclipse on Ohio?

In an email, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Development said the average visitor to Ohio spends $174 per visit. Considering visitation estimates from GreatAmericanEclipse.com, this could mean an economic boost of anywhere from $24 million to almost $100 million statewide.

“I don’t think that’s a stretch at all. People will be coming in, staying overnight, taking advantage of local attractions, restaurants, buying gas, shopping while they’re here, it’s just exponential,” Savarise said.

If Ohio follows the trend of states impacted by the 2017 total eclipse, the impact could actually gross in the low billions, Sohngen said.

After the 2017 total solar eclipse, the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism estimated the state brought in $269 million in economic impact, about 0.1% of the state’s gross domestic product.

If Ohio were to have the same 0.1% impact, it would amount to $822 million, but Sohngen said it could be even more.

“[In 2017,] some states in the South had it up to 0.25% of total GDP,” he said. “You would expect a lot of people from Pennsylvania, Illinois, etc., to come over here, so my guess is $1 to $2 billion range potentially.”

A total solar eclipse hasn’t occurred in Ohio in over 200 years, and factors like weather could change the outcome.

Barrel Room owner Keri Sullivan: ‘It’s a really big deal’

Many businesses in Northeast Ohio are planning for eclipse visitors by having events or selling limited edition products.

The Barrel Room on Canal, a restaurant in Canal Fulton, will be opening on an off day to host a solar eclipse watch party.

“We’re usually closed on Mondays but we’re opening up because it’s said that we’re going to have one of the best views,” owner Keri Sullivan said.

The restaurant will be open 2 to 9 p.m. and will offer eclipse-themed cocktail and food specials.

“We’re trying to cash in on something pretty cool that isn’t going to happen again anytime soon,” Sullivan said.

She said the event has generated decent interest on Facebook, but she isn’t sure what to expect yet.

“This is kind of unprecedented territory for us,” Sullivan said.

Rubber City Clothing creates special eclipse T-shirt

For Kevin Friend, owner of Rubber City Clothing Co. in Akron, making and selling an eclipse design for T-shirts, hoodies and bags was a no-brainer.

“We had been talking about it and a lady came in and asked if we had a design. That was good enough for me to decide that we should take advantage of this,” he said. “Summit County is doing all kinds of stuff around it, the schools are closed, it’s a really big deal.”

School’s out: Canton City Schools cancels classes, activities for solar eclipse

The design, created by Joëlle Zellman, features a sun and moon over the Akron skyline with the date of the eclipse. The graphic is glow-in-the-dark.

Friend said the eclipse design has been a hit so far and became the bestseller for several weeks.

“It’s an interesting opportunity and a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” he said. “I’m glad we can memorialize it and put designs on stuff that people can keep as souvenirs or wear on shirts.”

Gervasi Vineyard hosting solar eclipse party

Gervasi Vineyard in Canton is hoping to attract visitors with its See + Sip The Solar Eclipse event.

It will be held at the vineyard’s Still House and will feature a signature cocktail, eclipse glasses and live music.

Director of Marketing Andrea Hartman said even though the vineyard is located outside of the path of totality in Canton, it still expects a full turnout for the event.

“From the local audience, we were only able to release a certain amount of tickets because we wanted to make sure we held back enough for our hotel guests,” she said. “The public tickets we have offered are already sold out, our hotel rooms are very close to that, as well.”

The event has a capacity of 125 people, but the vineyard is considering raising it to 150 to accommodate high demand.

“People are looking for something different to do,” Hartman said. “A different wine pairing, a different experience, something fun to do.”

Reach Grace at 330-580-8364 or gspringer@gannett.com. Follow her on X @GraceSpringer16.