Hotel operators, retailers praise eclipse tourism; Public Square not so crowded

Apr. 10—Jody Pettit, general manager of Watertown's Hilton Garden Inn, said the weekend couldn't have gone any better with eclipse chasers coming to the north country to view the solar spectacle.

The hotel's 136 rooms were booked by tourists from all over the country to view Monday afternoon's total eclipse of the sun.

"It was an economic boon for us, definitely," she said.

Corey C. Fram, director of the Thousands Islands International Tourism Council, heard positive remarks from all kinds of tourism operators about visitors coming to the north country.

Eclipse chasers were so impressed with the region that they asked about what it's like during the summer. He expects some of those folks will come back.

Visitors came from Long Island, New York City, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, the Mid-Atlantic states and as far away as New Mexico and Oregon.

The north country got "a bump" in tourism from what would have happened this time of the year, Fram said.

Many were eclipse veterans who attended the celestial events in 2017 and earlier, he said.

Welcoming them at the North Country Welcome Center in Alexandria Bay, he talked to some visitors who told them that they were headed to places like Rochester and Buffalo.

But with the better weather here and concern for traffic, they decided to make their eclipse memories in Northern New York.

And some people canceled their reservations at the Hilton Garden Inn, heading, instead, to the Adirondack Mountains.

However, those rooms didn't stay empty — people coming from elsewhere gobbled them up and the hotel was full, Pettit said.

Watertown didn't get the 100,000 or more visitors that had been projected by the state, Fram said. It would have been "overwhelming," he said, adding that level of traffic never materialized but river and lake communities still were busy.

Visitors ended up with a more pleasant experience because of that, he said.

Uncle Sam Boat Tours in Alexandria Bay experienced record numbers for April, said operational manager Nate Sourwine.

With the eclipse, the company started boat tours three weeks earlier.

Over the weekend, the triple-deck Alexandria Belle was full for the first time ever in April, with 270 boarding.

On eclipse day on Monday, only the top deck was used, so that people could view the eclipse and weren't on lower decks.

It was the first visit for many to the Thousand Islands. Some may have never heard about region without the eclipse, Sourwine said.

And they got the experience of their lifetime, he said.

With clouds rolling in before totality, the captain turned the Belle around and headed for a spot in the St. Lawrence River where there was still blue skies, said Sourwine, who was the tour guide on the voyage.

"It was an unbelievable tour," he said.

State parks also were busy.

The regional office of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation shut down four parks — Henderson's Robert G. Wehle and Southwick Beach and Cumberland Bay and Point Au Roche, both in Plattsburgh — because they had reached capacity, park officials said.

The Hilton's Pettit sent some hotel guests to the boat tours, to Clayton and to Watertown's Total Eclipse of the Park event in Thompson Park.

Concerned about traffic, many didn't venture off the hotel property, viewing the eclipse in the Hilton Garden Inn's parking lot. She joined them in the celebration of the celestial event.

Retail shops in the busy river and lake communities also did well, Fram said.

The Michael J. Ringer St. Lawrence Gallery did a brisk business, with as many as 20, 30 and 40 customers at the same time in the Clayton location, said co-owner Kevin Topa.

The gallery also sold out of all of its eclipse T-shirts, mugs, magnets and stickers.

On Sunday, it completed more than 120 sales transactions.

"That's a really good for a day in April," Topa said.

While hospitality and retail had a successful weekend, Watertown, particularly the Public Square restaurants, didn't fare that well.

Vonnette T. Monteith, co-owner of the Empire Square restaurant and bar in Public Square, said businesses were told to extend hours and have enough staff on duty for eclipse weekend.

But the droves of people never showed up to Public Square, she said.

She made about 1,200 sandwiches to sell at the Thompson Park event but sold only about 200.

She donated the rest to the Salvation Army.

"I gambled and it didn't turn out," she said.

Food and beverage businesses didn't do as well as the hotels and retail businesses, Fram said. The food was perishable, so they lost that inventory.

With the hit that eateries took from the weekend, Monteith encouraged people to show their loyalty to Public Square and eat locally. Or those establishments may someday be gone, she warned.