Stargazing tourism looking up

BERLIN - With urbanization gaining pace and air pollution clouding the view in major cities, contemplating the stars in a pitch-black sky is fast becoming a rarity that tour operators are banking on as a new selling point.

From a total solar eclipse to the Milky Way to the northern lights, many experts at Berlin's ITB, marketed as the world's leading travel trade show, were making the case for astronomical experiences this year.

"Astro-tourism is really an increasing business. We now see a lot of travel agencies which offer this kind of tourism," says Andreas Haenel, an astronomer and director of the planetarium museum in northwestern Germany's Osnabrueck.