Dark Sky Park a star turn as tourism stays in the black Published on Monday 7 May 2012 01:42 Tourism businesses have seen an increase in visitors during the off-season since the the UK's first and only Dark Sky Park was awarded its exclusive status. Galloway Forest Park became Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park in November 2009, the International Year of Astronomy. It involved every light bulb in the area being changed to downward-facing "dark-sky" bulbs, to stop light pollution. Forty-seven residents living within the confines of the park also agreed to change their own bulbs in support of the bid. The pitch-black sky makes it an ideal spot for stargazers to view the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies, as well as all 18 constellations visible in the northern hemisphere. The stargazing season runs during from October to March, and an economic impact report found extra visitors have been pulled into the area during the off-season. The total cost to transform the area was about £21,000, paid for by the government body Forestry Commission Scotland (FSC), which made the bid. A total of 35 businesses in Galloway, including guest houses, bed and breakfasts, hotels and self-catering properties, were surveyed, with 77 per cent reporting an impact on the number of bed nights. The Dark Sky Park Economic Impact Assessment, carried out by ekos for FCS, said £40,584 has been returned in "additional expenditure" as a result of an increase in visitors, meaning for every £1 spent, there has been a return on investment of £1.93. The report said: "It should be noted that this is only a partial assessment of the economic impact of the Dark Sky Park. There are a number of factors which mean that the full impact of the Dark Sky Park will be much higher. These factors include visitors who may come only for the day and visitors who stay with friends and relatives rather than at paid-for accommodation. The majority (84 per cent) of businesses said they feel the Dark Sky Park is potentially important in attracting visitors to the area, and 81 per cent said this was relevant, particularly in the "quieter" part of the year. Keith Muir, FCS's head of tourism and recreation in Galloway, said: "There's hotels running specialist weekends now on stargazing and they're booked up. We're hearing more and more people talking to our staff out in the parks, saying that they're coming here and they're asking specifically about the night sky and where to go, and that has increased. We can see through the counters we have at different car parks that more people are going at night - we presume for dark sky gazing. Stargazers are in for a treat later this year with four separate meteor showers expected to be spotted over Scotland's skies. The next highlight in the astronomical diary is the Perseids shower in August. It is a stream of debris consisting of particles ejected by comet Swift-Tuttle. Mike Alexander runs Galloway Astronomy Centre, a bed and breakfast near Whithorn, which has an observatory in the grounds. He said they are already "full-to-the-brim" over the weekend of August 12 & 13, when the shower is expected to take place.