Hotel prices in Europe surge ahead of historic eclipse

{"text":[[{"start":11.64,"text":"Hotel prices in some cities in Iceland and Spain have more than doubled as tourists flock to witness the first total solar eclipse visible from continental Europe this century."}],[{"start":21.84,"text":"Rooms in the Icelandic capital Reykjavík were priced at more than $1,000 on average on the night of the eclipse on Wednesday — up more than 140 per cent on the same date in 2025, according to data group Lighthouse."}],[{"start":36.4,"text":"After Spain’s tourist industry was hit by some of the worst wildfires in 30 years, hotel demand in the eclipse’s path of totality has soared. Prices in the northern Spanish city of A Coruña had also more than doubled, while rates in Bilbao and Santiago de Compostela were up 59 per cent and 31 per cent respectively. In Mallorca — where the eclipse will be visible low on the horizon at sunset — rates were up by a fifth."}],[{"start":61.76,"text":"“There has been excessive demand and it’s been coming from everywhere,” said Helga Maria Albertsdóttir, managing director of Reykjavík’s Sky Lagoon, where guests will watch the solar eclipse while sitting in geothermal pools."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":74.68,"text":"Ryan Connolly, co-founder of luxury travel company Hidden Iceland, said he took his first booking for the eclipse back in September 2024. He had to start turning down further reservations this March, he said, as it was already “frantic and full across the whole country”."}],[{"start":90.16,"text":"Icelandair had added flights to cater for the surge in demand, particularly from the US, and would be operating at “full peak capacity”, according to chief executive Bogi Nils Bogason. Rival airline Delta also added additional flights from New York to Reykjavík."}],[{"start":105.24,"text":"Short-term rentals on sites such as Airbnb have also been boosted, with rates up 53.7 per cent year on year for Icelandic properties in the path of totality on the night of the eclipse, according to analytics company AirDNA."}],[{"start":119.24,"text":"The impact was smaller in Spain, which has a much larger supply of properties, but rates within the path of totality were still up an average of 15.8 per cent."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":128.12,"text":"The Spanish government forecasts that the eclipse will drive €342mn in additional tourist spending, drawing travellers away from southern holiday hotspots and to rarely visited parts of the country that lie within the path of totality, for example in the depopulated interior known as “empty Spain”."}],[{"start":145.8,"text":"However, parts of the country are still subject to extraordinary restrictions to prevent wildfires, with motor vehicles and fires restricted in Aragón and some natural parks closed in Valencia."}],[{"start":156.74,"text":"The tourism surge extends beyond dry land. Cruise lines including Princess Cruises and Virgin Voyages have launched sold-out trips to view the eclipse off the coasts of Spain and Iceland."}],[{"start":167.48,"text":"Tourists — particularly those opting for Iceland over Spain — will be hoping for clear skies, as cloud cover can drastically reduce the eclipse’s visibility; in thick cloud cover, the effects of an eclipse are limited to general atmospheric darkness. Sky Lagoon’s Albertsdóttir said the forecast for Reykjavík was currently “ideal”, with only light cloud cover."}],[{"start":188.44,"text":"Most of Hidden Iceland’s customers will watch the eclipse from the Reykjanes Peninsula, following a day of exploring the volcanic region, so that even in the worst-case scenario — if clouds obscured the eclipse — “they’ll have other activities, so it’s still a worthwhile trip”, said Connolly."}],[{"start":203.72,"text":"Tour operators said bookings were already rapidly rolling in, particularly in the Egyptian city of Luxor, for the solar eclipse next August that has been dubbed the “eclipse of the century”. It will be the longest period of totality seen from land until 2114."}],[{"start":223.01,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1786433411_3807.mp3"}