Star Metro - 'Unique event': Solar eclipse fever fills empty Spain

"We're absolutely buzzing," Bordallo, president of the Burgos Astronomy Association, told AFP before explaining the workings of the celestial spectacle to dozens of excited locals in the northern village of Belorado.

"We're eager for this to happen now, to experience it, for the weather to be right, for everything to work," he said.

The total solar eclipse on August 12 -- the first in Spain since 1905 -- will only last around 90 seconds.

But the global attention and tourism could bring long-term benefits to often overlooked areas known as "empty Spain".

The "band of totality" where the eclipse will be fully visible is due to plunge into darkness swathes of rural regions suffering population decline, including Castile and Leon in the north.

"Castile and Leon isn't always in the news, and unfortunately the foreigners (tourists) stay more on the coast," said Belen Molinuevo Puras, a 51-year-old anthropologist who has family roots in Belorado.

"We're really excited that it (the eclipse) is in this area," she told AFP in a pitch-black field in the village, where the astronomy association was running a night-time star observation session.

- Stars align -

As the world's second most-visited country after France, Spain is already a tourism powerhouse.

But the government aims to diversify away from seasonally dependent beach holidays and places under strain from overtourism such as Barcelona.

After August 12, another two eclipses are due in 2027 and 2028, and rural areas are set to reap economic benefits, according to a May report commissioned by travel platform Airbnb.

The three eclipses are "an unprecedented opportunity to help rebalance tourist flows in Spain", the report said.

In the city of Burgos, a modest provincial capital that will offer excellent vantage points when the Moon covers the Sun, eclipse hunters have hoovered up accommodation options.

The United States, South America, Japan and other Asian countries have driven international eclipse tourism in Burgos, vice mayor Andrea Ballesteros told AFP outside the city's landmark 13th-century cathedral.

The hope is that foreign visitors "take away a good impression of our city, and later that can have a ripple effect", said Ballesteros, who heads the municipal entity responsible for coordinating activities around the event.

Burgos works to "attract external tourism, not just in the summer months", while the eclipse "will be a boost for tourism and culture" and "a major economic boost", she added.

Chinese guests are the largest group at Lucia Molina's hotel in Burgos, which is fully booked for August 12 and where reservations started up to 18 months in advance.

"Practically all rooms have sold out for very high prices, not only here, but in all hotels in Burgos," the receptionist said.

The rare spare rooms were going for up to 1,200 euros ($1,370) a night, Molina added.

- 'Unique event' -

Around 500,000 visitors are predicted to flock to Castile and Leon for the eclipse, including some 40,000 in Burgos -- more than one-fifth of the city's population.

But the prospect of thousands of visitors traipsing through fields and sweltering for hours in the summer heat has raised security, health and logistical concerns.

Droves of day-trippers from the rest of Spain and caravans from neighbouring France are expected to amplify the anarchy on the roads.

Ballesteros conceded the "challenge" was bound to cause disruption but emphasised months of preparation between different levels of government and the emergency services, including the creation of specific observation points to manage the crowds.

As for potential health hazards, Marta Serrano, who works at an optical store in Burgos, insisted on the importance of wearing specially designed glasses to watch the eclipse.

"This is like going to the beach on a cloudy day. You say, 'today I won't put on cream because I won't burn,'" Serrano said.

"Then at night you realise that you did because the rays keep getting through. This will be the same," she said, warning of the risks for eyesight.

Demand for the glasses is now "very large" after "people were not too worried" initially, Serrano said.

Back in Belorado, astronomer Bordallo cannot wait to see decades of work culminating in his home region under the world's gaze.

"It's a unique event, it's a wonder, it's a free show within anyone's reach. And it will astonish them and delight them," he enthused.

P.M.Martin--SMC