Achi news desk-
The 2024 solar eclipse is bringing attention – and tourism to New Brunswick.
Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick (TIANB) CEO Luis Cardoso said he knows of people traveling to the event from Brazil.
“It has already affected tourism, we have people coming from all over the world to New Brunswick to see it,” he said.
Tourism brings business – like the Delta Hotels by Marriott in Fredericton, where bookings are almost full on Sunday and later in the week.
“It’s certainly great for this time of year,” said the hotel’s general manager, Sara Holyoke.
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Organizations around Fredericton planned eclipse-related events as part of the city’s EclipseFest, including an astronomy talk, viewing party, and planetarium show.
The Beaverbrook Art Gallery displays a painting of an eclipse.
Its collections manager, John Leroux, said the weekend was busy with visitors from around the world.
“There was a very good chance that the sky was going to be cloudy and you wouldn’t really be able to see the eclipse, so we thought this was an opportunity for people to see a full eclipse,” he said. He noted that the weather is expected to be clear.
Spencer Beggs and his daughter Elouise traveled to Fredericton from Dalhousie, NB to see the eclipse in totality.
They looked at the eclipse painting, and Beggs said they visited the eclipse-related tourist attractions.
“We’re pretty excited about the eclipse, everyone’s got eclipse fever, so there’s a lot to do, a lot to see,” he said.
Cardoso said the event highlights another opportunity – astronomy-related tourism, or what he called “astrotourism.”
He said New Brunswick’s rural areas and four dark sky preserves provide opportunities to see the stars.
“Eighty-five percent of the world lives under polluted air. That puts us in a pretty unique position to take advantage of astrotourism,” he said.
But, during EclipseFest, all the coverage will be on the air during the day.
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
