Eclipse raised revenue.

11 Apr, 2006

Over 1,150 people visited Ghana to view the 29 March total solar eclipse, according to preliminary figures. The tourism ministry has estimated that each visitor spent an average of $2,000 in the country, to a total of $2.3 million.

Central Region, whose capital Cape Coast lay directly in the path of the eclipse, recorded the highest number of visitors (418), followed by Western Region (315) and Volta Region on the eastern border with Togo (75), according to data collected by the ministry. Most visitors to Central Region came from the United States (135), followed by the United Kingdom (100) and the Netherlands (30); other visitors were from Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Thailand, the same source has said. Most visitors were professors or students who travelled to the West African country to study the eclipse.