Hotels fill up for New Zealand eclipse

Region’s first total eclipse in over 850 years sparks tourism boom

Wellington: Hotels in New Zealand’s southern city of Dunedin are already booking out for a total solar eclipse due on July 22, 2028, two years before the rare event, the Guardian reported.

The eclipse, the first total one visible from New Zealand since 1965, will plunge parts of the South Island into nearly three minutes of daytime darkness. Astronomers say it will be the first total eclipse seen from the Dunedin region in more than 850 years.

About 35,000 visitors are expected to travel to the city of 1,30,000 residents, prompting hotels to offer special eclipse packages. Tūhura Otago Museum has begun a two-year countdown to what is expected to be one of the country’s biggest astronomy tourism events.

The eclipse will coincide with celebrations around Matariki, the Māori New Year, with Dunedin planning a night-sky festival leading up to the event.