The August 21 solar eclipse proved to be a highlight of the 2017 summer travel season as air travel to cities located along the path of totality nearly doubled for the weekend prior to the eclipse compared to 2016, according to analysis by the Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC).
The number of air travel tickets purchased to totality cities went up an average of 55 percent for Friday arrival, 136 percent for Saturday arrival and 52 percent for Sunday arrival compared to the same weekend last year. Kansas City, Missouri and Knoxville, Tennessee had the largest percentage increase for Saturday travel at 249 percent and 200 percent respectively, more than three times the travelers than in 2016.
ARC´s analysis found that the following cities in the path of totality had the most dramatic increases over the prior year:
Columbia, S.C.: 43, 113 and 124 percent
Kansas City, Mo.: 94, 249 and 52 percent
Knoxville, Tenn.: 127, 200 and 70 percent
Nashville, Tenn.: 31, 125 and 27 percent
Omaha, Neb.: 67, 187 and 99 percent
Portland, Ore.: 39, 91 and 60 percent
St. Louis, Mo.: 92, 187 and 37 percent
The Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) is the premier driver of air travel intelligence and commerce in the travel industry with business solutions, travel agency accreditation services, process and financial management tools and high-quality data. In 2016, ARC settled USD 86 billion worth of carrier ticket transactions for nearly 7,000 travel agencies with more than 12,000 points of sale. Established in 1984, ARC is an ISO 27001 certified company headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, with offices in Louisville, Kentucky, Tampa, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico. For more information, visit www.arccorp.com and www.twitter.com/arctalk.
