South America specialist RealWorld Holidays is urging agents to book their customers’ 2019 tours to see the solar eclipse in Chile and Argentina “before it’s too late”.
The operator said the popularity of the August eclipse in the US had driven a surge in interest in people wanting to see the next time the moon passes in front of the sun.
The operator has created two itineraries: one in Chile for stargazers interested in astrology and another to Argentina for those who want to combine the eclipse with more-traditional sights.
In Chile, the week-long trip will take in the Alfa Aldea observatory, Elqui Valley and Damas Islands as well as a private eclipse tour on July 2, 2019. Prices start at £1,990, excluding flights.
The Argentine tour includes five nights in Buenos Aires with a city tour, tango show, Tigre and Delta tour, Gaucho experience and eclipse viewing as well as flights to Iguaçu to see the waterfalls over three nights. Prices start from £2,295 including domestic flights only.
Dan Clarke, founder and managing director of RealWorld Holidays, said: “It seems a way off, but the eclipse in America got so much coverage that it’s driving interest already. As soon as it happened we were deluged with enquiries. It really is a case of book it now before it’s too late.”
Clarke said the operator had seen a “rebound” in sales to South America this year.
Overall sales are more than 10% up on last year, with a bigger surge in Chile mitigating a slight drop in demand for Brazil.
Clarke put the rise in bookings to Chile partly down to British Airways’ new direct route between Heathrow and Santiago, which began in January this year.