Taylor Swift has made a great impact not just in the music scene but also in the world of travel. The pop giant’s Eras Tour has a staggering effect on the economy, thanks to its huge success. Though it will take over a year before it ends, it’s already posed as the biggest tour of all time. That said, with more performances happening in the coming months all over the world, tour tourism is expected to boom in 2024.
Taylor Swift’s Impact on Tour Tourism
Tour tourism is just like the usual travel that people make to go to another place, only this time they go on a journey to see their favorite artist perform. Though this isn’t new at all, Expedia, an online travel brand, notices a sharp increase in it and sees Taylor Swift as the reason behind it.
Take it from Expedia Canada spokesperson Sarah Marcucci: with the pop giant’s three Vancouver shows in December 2024, there’s a huge 5,000 percent increase in searches to the country. In a study that the company made for the annual Unpack 24 report, which details the travel trends reported by Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo, they learned that 40 percent of people would likely travel in the next year for a concert than ever before.
“So, these big-time tours are really causing that interest to travel,” Marcucci told CityNews.
And who is behind these big travels? It’s Gen Zs. These young adults tend to spend more on experiences than belongings, so they don’t mind paying for bookings to see their favorite artists perform live.
Aside from Taylor Swift, another equally famous pop star also caused the soar of tour tourism: Beyonce and her Renaissance Tour.
The Economic Impact of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour
Taylor Swift has already performed in a number of countries for the last seven months since the Eras Tour began in March 2023. And every city she has visited has seen a big boost in revenue, thanks to thousands of fans who have traveled to see her perform live.
The Eras Tour has broken the ticket sales records worldwide. It sold over 2.4 million tickets in the U.S. presale alone. Analysts believe it could surpass the $1 billion mark in March 2024 as Travis Kelce’s girlfriend continues her tour in March 2024. If this happens, it will be the biggest tour in music history, surpassing even that of Elton John’s multi-year farewell tour, which holds the record of $939 million.
But aside from Taylor Swift and her shows’ success, it also translates to $5 billion in consumer spending in the U.S. alone.
“If Taylor Swift were an economy, she’d be bigger than 50 countries,” President of QuestionPro Research and Insights Dan Fleetwood said in a story for GlobalNewsWire.
Her concert’s opening night in Glendale, Arizona, even generated more revenue for local businesses than Super Bowl LVII, which was also held in the same venue in February.
For example, every $100 spent on live performances generates about $300 on hotels, food, and transportation. However, Taylor Swift’s fans, Swifties, take it to another level, spending a whopping $1,300-$1,500 on merchandise, food, outfits, and costumes, boosting local economies by hundreds of millions of dollars in just one weekend.
Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker thanked the hitmaker for reviving the state’s tourism industry after her three-night concert in Chicago. A Fed report also credited her for fueling the national tourism industry.
The Taylor Swift effect isn’t only seen in the music industry today. It has become so diverse that it has gone beyond the four walls of the entertainment business. The success of the Eras Tour also translates to the success of the countries where the event is being held, seeing a boost in the economy and tourism. Hence, world leaders invite her to perform in their countries to help their financial systems and travel business. Well, there’s a good reason why Eras Tour is now being dubbed one of the most prominent cultural phenomena in the 21st century.