CHAPTER 13

Developing a Destination

This chapter is a DIY lesson and a “how to” base on case studies from other locations and the author’s recommendations. Because astrotourism is an adventure into the unknown on both earth and in the sky, there is latitude for the enterprising purveyor in this field. Considering that astrotourism was once limited to astronomers, which is a new field of tourism for most of the population, innovative ideas and creativity will be indispensable in developing a destination. It is up to the entrepreneur to create the newcomer’s context as there are far more of those individuals than astronomers.

This kind of tourism elicits a tremendous amount of sharing and camaraderie. People with telescopes are eager to share the view. It is impossible to overconsume a night sky, and there is always more than enough for everybody. Unlike a beach, a resort, or parks where there are only so many choice parking places and spots by the shore, a night sky is vast and cannot be used up, nor is one place under the sky better than another (skyglow and light pollution excluded). No matter how much one learns to pass on to their guests, there will be other guests who will further your knowledge of astronomy, sharing their skills, wisdom, and enthusiasm.

It (astrotourism) can draw many visitors to a destination where skies are free from artificial light pollution. These desolate places with their apparent emptiness, once disregarded by earlier travelers, have now become noteworthy attractions.¹

The attraction, a dark sky, is already in place without any capital outlay. There are no user fees, royalties, or residuals that need to be paid. It never breaks down, the lease will never run out, and there can be no copyright infringement as the content, and the stories were written thousands of years ago. It requires no maintenance and no upkeep; however, it does require protection. There is tremendous latitude in constructing a location or not creating anything and leaving it empty.

As people will be traveling hundreds, if not thousands of miles, to access a pristine night sky, they will require overnight accommodations. Star viewers may stay up all hours of the night and, therefore, more likely to be sleeping later into the morning. People who require sleeping arrangements will find blackout curtains very welcome. Sleep masks could be offered up in place of curtains with your own logo printed on them as a take-home gift and memento of your guests’ stay.

As such, astrotourism provides opportunities for unexpected collaborations between the tourism stakeholders, local communities, and scientific institutions.² Getting the participation of stakeholders is critical to the success of a dark sky destination. Communities near dark zones may continue to increase tourism and their growth if the outdoor lighting is properly designed to protect the stars’ view. Current common lighting practices in most municipalities are the anathema of the dark skies people are coming to see.

A growing number of locations worldwide are acquiring an International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) dark sky or Starlight Foundation certification which entails broad participation by the community as the outdoor lighting needs of government, business, and residents are not uniform.

The development of a dark sky asset will require the locale to rethink their nighttime lighting. A dark sky has particular needs to be restored, preserved, and protected but is inexpensive to implement compared to the restoration of other natural resources (i.e., rivers, lakes, watersheds). Community illumination may require recalibrating as an improper design can reduce starlight’s visibility with an overabundance of outdoor lighting, which will diminish the quality of a starry sky.

Overcoming people’s reflexive fear of the dark and their paradigm for what it means to be safe has been a major obstacle. Decision making is not logical; it is emotional, according to the latest findings in neuroscience.³ As a rule, people think that more light means more safety, but research shows this not the case. A study led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in partnership with the University College of London found no evidence of a link between reduced street lighting and nighttime collisions or increased crime.⁴ No solid evidence has yet been found to support the hypothesis that improved street lighting reduces reported crime.⁵ Studies were conducted to find some correlation between nighttime lighting and crime in major metropolitan areas. Any municipality near a dark sky destination will be considerably smaller and not have the same crime metrics. However, people’s superstitions about the dark endure regardless of the population density of their community.

Figure 13.1 Lighting best practices image

Source: International Dark Sky Association

If you are a stakeholder in a community near dark skies, it is in your interest to adapt lighting designed to protect the night’s darkness and collaborate with other businesses and chambers of commerce to generate economic incentives that develop a common identity as it relates to the stars.

Creating programming (i.e., “Star Tours”) can boost a local economy as a whole as visitors will spend their dollars with a wider number of vendors in town. Adventure travelers, such as astrotourists, are more interested in the experience than creature comforts. They are explorers who seek encounters that are singular, eccentric, and off-the-beaten paths. They hunt down the peculiar, distinctive, atypical, and idiosyncratic. Explorers blaze trails. This perchance allows for a greater range of offerings rather than the commonplace tourist considerations.

Housing

As they relate to dwellings, local ordinances vary from state-to-state, town-to-town, and temporary structures have their own specific requirements and must adhere to local ordinances. These suggestions are seasonal and not intended as permanent lodging.

Yurts are excellent choices for housing guests as they can be set up within hours, along with a wide variety of tents and teepees. Inflatable dwellings that are clear plastic globes large enough to house three to four people are now available. The latter is highly desirable as the guest can sleep in a big bubble that provides exceptional viewing conditions; however, it will require electricity to power the blower that keeps them inflated. Water can be trucked in, and wastewater trucked out. Electricity can be provided with portable generators or solar panels and cooking can be done with solar, propane, or butane stoves. “Glamping” (glamour meets camping) has a steep increase in interest in the travel market.

The “glamping” market in the United States is projected to reach $4.8 billion in revenue by 2025 at an estimated (Compound Annual Growth Rate) CAGR rate of 12.5 percent during that forecast period, according to a Market Watch report from October 6, 2019. The demand for cabins and safari tents is expected to grow 2.5 times over the next five years. Meanwhile, between 2014 and 2018, growth in U.S. camping households has steadily increased, from 71,500,000 homes in 2014 to nearly 80,000,000 last year. Millennials represent the fastest-growing demographic in new campers, with more diversity being represented among camping demographics.⁶

This insight into the projection of travel trends in combination with millennials seeking more experiential and eclectic travel options bodes well for astrotourism sites’ purveyors. The amenities can range from primitive to rustic chic.

Booking platforms like Airbnb, VRBO, Trip Advisor, Glamping Hub, and the ubiquitous nature of social media gives a startup unprecedented access to a global audience for a fraction of the marketing costs once associated with launching an attraction or tourist destination. By gaining IDA certification, your destination is on a database and map maintained by IDA that allows travelers to find dark sky locations. Even without this certification, astrotourism is springing up around the world.

One location where it is having great success is in a remote region in South Africa, the Karoo, which is an arid to the semiarid geographic region of Eastern, Western, and Northern Cape provinces. The Karoo is best defined by its vegetation, which consists of assorted succulents and low scrub bushes spaced from one foot to several feet apart. The area is devoid of surface water, and its name is derived from the Khoisan word meaning “land of thirst.”⁷ With a landscape and weather similar to the American Southwest, the viewing conditions are highly favorable. The tourism and hospitality industry have bought into the Astro-theme, adopting space motifs and stellar imagery in the naming of their establishments, for example, Skitterland (Glitterland) Guesthouse, Jupiter Restaurant, Sterland (Starland), Southern Cross, and the Vlieënde Piering (the Flying Saucer).

Similar examples of thematic participation by a community can be found in Roswell, NM, the location of the “UFO Incident” back in 1947. Over half a century later, there are still shops called Alien Zone, Alien Invasion T’s, and a UFO Museum. The town’s website uses little alien head icons as the “pins” dropped on online maps. The Roswell city logo uses a flying saucer with a light beam shooting out of the bottom. Their baseball team is called the Invaders, and there is the Alien City Dragstrip. Alien eyes are painted onto downtown’s historic street lamps and there is an annual UFO festival that attracts visitors from around the world.

As the Karoo is a “start-up” compared to the storied history of Roswell NM, they are still in the early stages of cultivating the area to accommodate visitors yet see the opening for economic development in an area that had little else to offer. Tourism enhancement is occurring due to various individual initiatives such as improved stakeholder relations, tour guide training, upgrading the quality and tarring of the roads to make the observatory more accessible to visitors, and producing arts and crafts as marketable products for tourists. Tour guiding and interpretation appear to be a desired feature, with some level of specialist experience and guidance essential to boost product delivery. The niche is perceived as being exorbitant, requiring quality equipment that is expensive and less portable.² The author takes exception to the last sentence and will demonstrate that equipment need not be costly to provide an exceptional experience for your guests.

Figure 13.2 Space theme community participation—courtesy City of Roswell NM

Dark Sky Destination Appurtenances

The following are the author’s suggestions to be considered a starting point. As technology changes, so will tourism. The offerings available in this writing will expand, evolve, develop, and become increasingly sophisticated as this new segment of the travel market continues to grow. More activities may be developed for a dark sky destination, and nothing puts it all into perspective like a Solar System Walk.

Solar System Walk

The fact is that the planets are mighty small, and the distances between them are ridiculously huge. To make any representation whose scale is true for the planet’s sizes and distances, we must go outdoors.⁹ This can be done to the scale of your choosing and demarcating the distances between the planets with our star Sol at the start of the walk. A version created by Guy Ottewell shows the comparison of distances and the planets’ size ratio. It is called “The Thousand-Yard Model or, The Earth as a Peppercorn.” At the start of your walk is the sun, and depending upon how much space you have, a path is demarcated by the planets as one walks away from the center of our solar system. The first plaque or sign would be Mercury, then Venus, Earth, and so on.

Figure 13.3 Sagan Planet Walk Marker

Source: Sciencenter, Ithaca, NY

The self-guided Chandler Solar System Walk at Veterans Oasis Park is a 2,500-foot path where one navigates around the lake along with a series of monuments and signs representing the sun, planets, and primary celestial objects—all placed at distances relative to the scale of the solar system. Each foot on the walk represents 1.5 million miles (2,414, 016 km), which means that the sun’s distance to Earth is 62 (18.9m) feet along the walk—equivalent to the actual 93 million miles (149,668,992 km) between the two in space.¹⁰

Binoculars

Optical equipment like binoculars range from under a hundred to many thousands of dollars. Though it will enhance your offering, it is not obligatory to create an enjoyable, memorable evening for visitors. The viewers can see 25 or even 50 times more stars with a pair of binoculars than with the unaided eye.¹¹

Binoculars are easy to use, do not require tripods (unless they are huge), pack small, light, and need little understanding to use them. As dark sky destinations are in remote locations, binoculars will serve double duty during the daytime for viewing landscapes, wildlife, and bird watching.

Telescopes

The price of telescopes has dramatically dropped, making them accessible for people who are on a minimal budget. Beginner telescopes are available for under $100 and can view the moon’s surface, Mars, Jupiter’s moon, Saturn’s rings, and other celestial objects well beyond our solar system.¹² A telescope of much smaller diameter gave Galileo Galilei the ability to see enough of the night sky to change how we see the world so imagine what you can do? Sometimes amateur astronomers happen upon discoveries that rocked the scientific community.¹³ There are 4-inch telescopes on the market for under $200 that will allow the viewer to see all of the planets in our solar system and distant objects like the Andromeda Galaxy and the Crab Nebula.

It is highly recommended that an equatorial mount is included as it allows the telescope to move in conjunction with the earth’s rotation. Without an equatorial mount, the viewing object will continue to drift out of the frame. These beginner telescopes range from about 8.5–14 kilos. Though not small enough to throw around your neck like a pair of binoculars, they are built to pack into cases that are easy to transport. Telescopes can also be used for terrestrial viewing during the daytime as most dark sky destinations are in remote regions. The chances of seeing wildlife are more likely, and optical equipment can be utilized for remote viewing.

Pointers

A crucial piece of equipment is a pointer that ranges from twenty to a few hundred dollars. A flashlight with a capacity to focus the beam will work, and it is strongly urged to use a red lens to preserve night vision. A long thin stick with a keychain LED light on the end of it will also act as a pointer. Lasers that are powerful enough to see the beam are available online, and their price continues to drop while their power continues to rise. Stock a few extra laser pointers as they give your guests the efficiency to locate and point to stars as well. Once people experience lasers, they will find the length of their arm wholly inadequate when navigating the night sky.

My own experience of sharing the night revealed that people were every bit as interested in discovering how to find a constellation and learning their stories as having a view through a telescope of a celestial object.

Comfort Considerations

Winter provides some of the clearest skies and the brightest constellations. Hence, preparations are necessary to maintain your guests’ well-being by having extra winter hats, scarves, mittens, blankets, ground-pads, hand warmers, hot-water bottles, and thermoses for hot beverages. A stationary or portable fire pit would also be most welcome, not only for the heat it provides but a gathering place for your guests. Everybody loves a warming fire as it not only feels good but connects us to our ancestral roots, and a sky ablaze with stars overhead awakens a primal sense of belonging to the cosmic picture. S’mores are optional. Drinking alcohol may make you feel warmer because the feeling is caused by blood rushing to the skin’s surface. Alcohol also decreases sensitivity to cold, which in turn reduces the shivering process and deprives your body of extra heat. All of these factors actually increase the risk for hypothermia.¹⁴

Lighting Needs

To understand the lighting needs of the astrotourist, a brief on the anatomy of the eyeball is necessary. There are two types of cells in our eye that let us see. They are called rods and cones, and they are located in the retina at the back of the eye. The cones are highly sensitive to color and detail but do not function well in dim light. The rods are susceptible to light but cannot pick up very much detail.¹⁵ Rods require 30 to 45 minutes or more of absolute darkness to attain 80 percent dark adaptation. Total dark adaptation can take many hours. While the rods in your eyes are far more light-sensitive than the cones, they can only discriminate between black and white.¹⁶

Viewing stars requires that one does not look directly at them but slightly askance to activate the rods in the retina’s corners. A sleep mask can be put on to protect night vision before venturing out to prime the biological ocular sensors. After venturing into the night, the use of red light is of primary importance because if standard illumination is utilized, the eyes have to go through readjusting to the darkness. Various companies like Meade, Celestron, and Apetura make red lights specifically designed for stargazing and nighttime navigation.

The facility and housing area will require very specific luminaires if the lighting is to be used at all. Optimally, between 1,700k up to 2,200k to protect against light pollution and help maintain night vision. Under this kind of light, the eye’s pupil does not constrict, thus allowing it to take in more light, and see past the luminaire to the stars overhead.

Outdoor light should be:

Star charts and maps are essential as navigating the night sky without one is not possible. With a map, the viewer can find and identify planets, stars, major constellations, star clusters, nebulae, and even distant galaxies. Being able to open up a paper map that shows the entire sky has its advantages. Other alternatives are Star Guides that have movable discs nested on top of one another that are turned to the corresponding season.

Today there are also several smartphone applications. A limitation with these apps is their brightness and shifting one’s gaze from the screen to the sky and back and again. It plays havoc with one’s night vision and also due to their limited size, they can only be focused on a small portion of the night sky at a time. As most of the population is comfortable with their smartphones and the additional features that they possess, it is recommended to have guests download some star applications before their trip. Several are listed in the Resource section of this book.

Priming guests to do their “homework” before arrival will enhance their nighttime experience. Some gadgets and devices will help you capture the stars, the Moon, and more using your smartphone.¹⁸ The most stunning deep space images are available online and can be downloaded onto a computer, tablet, or mobile phone.

To create a more textured and layered experience over the many hours under a night sky, consider a musical track to set the mood and tone. (See Music List) Think how much a soundtrack adds to a movie and how melodies become etched into our memory. Even silent movies were not silent as an organ or piano player was in the theater providing live music accompaniment. In 1977 the five tones, in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, entered the public’s consciousness and remained.¹⁹ In the same year, Star Wars theme music also launched a generation and generations to follow into a galaxy far, far away. Like a scent can bring up a memory, so too can music played for the guests as they gaze into the night sky. Years later, hearing that tune will bring back the recollection of their time under the stars. A dark sky destination can host several different events or parties over the course of the year based on these celestial events.

Though the highlight and purpose of astrotourism are to take in the night sky, a few items to have at a destination that can be appreciated during the daytime continues the theme as our sun is the closest star. Solar timepieces are a fascination for people even to this day. Most people know about sundials, but they rarely have exposure to them, and there is a rich history of these first devices for calculating time. Other types of astronomical devices for a destination might include:

To close this chapter here is an arcane method that uses our closest star to tell time with nothing more than your hands. To estimate the time of day within 30 minutes or less, make a fist and, with an outstretched arm, place it on the horizon. The width of a fist will represent about one hour. Put the other fist on top of the first fist while keeping the first fist on the horizon. Keep stacking your fists, one on top of the other, until reaching the sun. Count backward from the time of sunset. If the sun sets at 8 pm and there are 6 stacked fists, one on top of the other, it will be about 2 p.m. In a tech-driven world, people are eager to learn that they can tell time as their forebears did going back to primitive cultures. With this, your guest has something in common, albeit simple by its nature, with ancient history.