SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) – Chevy Chase wasn't the only one vacationing in Syracuse for Monday's total solar eclipse.
The Saturday Night Live alum and Christmas Vacation star dined at Pastabilis and posed for photos with the restaurant's owners and staff.
He was just one of thousands of out-of-towners who visited Syracuse when the city was in the midst of a full-blown outbreak.
Early data shows a tourism boom in Onondaga County.
“We beat it,” said Visit Syracuse CEO and President Danny Liedka. “We absolutely killed it here in Onondaga County.”
Visit Syracuse reports Onondaga County had nearly 100% occupancy on Sunday night, April 7, 2024, the night before the eclipse. That means, for the first time in history, all hotel rooms are booked on Sunday.
On the same Sunday night last year, April 9, 2023, only 14% of hotel rooms in the county were booked.
Syracuse had the largest increase in pedestrian traffic of any major city along the total path, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Syracuse was second only to Buffalo in terms of growth in spending among cities, also compiled by Bloomberg.
The publication also cited Syracuse as experiencing the most significant traffic delays, which it said was both an inconvenience and a sign of economic activity.
Liedka's job with Visit Syracuse is to bring these people back to Syracuse for other events. Onondaga County's tourism department tracks credit card data to find out where people come from, what they spend and how to bring them back.
“I think this allows us to expand into other markets that we wouldn't normally be involved in,” Lietka said. “New York, Philadelphia, Boston: These major cities are interested in Syracuse. We're going to take advantage of that.”