Total solar eclipse was a total boon for Vermont businesses, and it only took a day

The total solar eclipse on April 8 this year had a big economic impact on Vermont, according to the Department of Tourism and Marketing.

Two studies showed the eclipse generated nearly $35 million in visitor spending, a “welcome boost” during what is traditionally Vermont’s slowest month for tourism. But just to put things in perspective, that’s less than 10% of visitor spending during Vermont’s fall foliage season.

“It’s great to see the economic boost businesses across Vermont saw as a result of the total solar eclipse,” Gov. Phil Scott said in a statement. “It’s also a good reminder how important fall foliage tourism is to our economy.”

The total eclipse crowd wasn’t here long, but they spent freely

Vermont commissioned travel industry experts at two firms, Tourism Economics and Datafy, to evaluate the total eclipse’s total economic impact. Tourism Economics estimates the eclipse brought an additional 175,000 visitors to Vermont, who spent $34.8 million while they were here, contributing $2.6 million in sales and meals and rooms taxes to state and local coffers. The estimated total economic impact? $54 million.

Datafy focused on out-of-state credit card holders visiting Vermont for the eclipse and found 80% were from the Northeast, mostly from New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. A majority of those visitors − 59% − were here just for the day.

Datafy also found 71% more visitors were in Vermont on April 8 than the average peak day in fall for the leaves, but again, they didn’t stay long, unlike the leaf peepers. Fall foliage visitors stay longer and spend more. Vermont Tourism estimates 2.5 million visitors spend about $500 million annually during the entire fall foliage season.

Man, those leaves generate a lot of cash!

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT.