The south of the country is preparing for an eclipse that promises excitement.

Tarragona"Excuse me for not looking at the camera, it's quite difficult to look away from this." This was how journalist Lídia Heredia, TV3's correspondent in Washington, D.C., apologized to the audience during her live broadcast of the solar eclipse in April 2024 from Erie, Pennsylvania. Wearing paper eclipse glasses, her mouth agape, and a face beaming with emotion, the journalist insisted: "Many people feel like we're living through an experience they'll remember for a lifetime." Many residents of southern Catalonia, and thousands of tourists, will have a similar feeling this August 12th, when the Moon passes directly in front of the Sun, plunging the sky into darkness. For a minute and a half, as if someone had flipped a switch, it will suddenly go dark, and even the stars will be visible. All of this will occur between 7:30 and 9:00 p.m., depending on the observer's location.

The TV3 reporter's reaction is studied and is what Americans call a "wow" feeling, a profound sense of awe we experience at certain moments in life, such as when we witness extraordinary natural phenomena. "Ultimately, an eclipse is just nightfall, like every day. But it usually happens over two hours, not all at once. We're not used to it," explains Urbano Lorenzo, professor of behavioral science methodology at Rovira i Virgili University. "These situations, which are outside our daily routine, cause a cognitive pause as we try to understand what's happening," Lorenzo explains. Realizing that nature does things we can't control "makes us feel small and awakens a social instinct to cooperate with one another," the researcher explains. Some have already experienced it and, just as Heredia predicted, are marked for life. Eclipse tourism has existed for some time now, and in fact, there are even cruises that specifically seek out eclipses. It is estimated that this August, in five months' time, the areas where the eclipse will be visible will see an additional ten million tourists compared to a normal summer.

Booking boom

"The boom happened just a year before the eclipse," explains Mireia Sans, owner of Camping Prades Park. Although this mountain village won't be one of the best places to view the eclipse, its sky, recognized as a Starlight Tourist Destination and as a protected dark sky by the Catalan Government's Department of Territory, has made it a favorite destination for this type of tourist. "We had many requests and decided to create a waiting list and process them gradually," explains Sans. The goal was to ensure that regular customers wouldn't be left without a pitch. To help with this screening process and to also reduce the number of journeys, as recommended by the Catalan Government, the campsite requires a minimum stay of one week. Xavier Guardià, spokesperson for the Tarragona Provincial Federation of Hospitality and Tourism Businesses, explains that this practice is common and points out that the astronomical event occurs during peak season, "precisely when everyone is on the move because even those who don't take vacations in August take a few days off." This coincidence also makes it very difficult to quantify how many reservations have been made specifically for the eclipse because, moreover, summer vacations are usually booked further in advance.

"If it had fallen in November, it would have been much more noticeable," Guardià points out. However, although the tourist offerings in the Tarragona region are nearly at full capacity this time of year, "any event in a top-tier tourist sector, with quality services, is always welcome." This leads to what is known as "repeat visits from non-customers," which is when someone who visits the area for whatever reason and is happy with their experience returns for another vacation.

The best place

To try and bring some order to the crowds that the eclipse will cause, the Catalan government has designated areas of "total visibility," from where this spectacle of just one and a half minutes can be enjoyed. For the moment—the list may change— This involves 20 municipalities where there will be at least 27 observation points.Most are located between Lleida and the Terres de l'Ebre region. To check if a location is good for viewing the eclipse, you can try again on May 1st. On Labor Day, at 8:24 pm, the Sun will be at the exact same altitude as on the day of the eclipse, explains Lorenzo. If the chosen spot isn't suitable, either because the Sun is too low in the sky or because a mountain is blocking it, there's still a whole week when the Sun will be more or less in the same position as on August 12th, allowing you to check if the new location is suitable.

The Department of Research and Universities of the Generalitat of Catalonia has prepared a website with all the necessary information to understand the eclipse and enjoy it safely. The astronomical phenomenon has also boosted interest in science, and various observatories, astronomical societies, and universities, among many others, are organizing different workshops and talks during these months, which can also be found on the Generalitat's website.