“Once upon a time, the planets and the fates and all the stars aligned…”
– Taylor Swift
The global superstar Taylor Swift is not the only one who steals the hearts of fans around the world with her Eras Tour: she takes the center of a global tourism boom, and everyone from tour operators to world leaders and travel advisors, beware.
Those who travel know that entertainment, such as sporting events and concerts, are intrinsically linked to the travel industry, but there has been nothing like this before. Swift’s US tour, which ran through 20 cities in five months, brought in $5 billion in direct spending.
The United States Travel Association estimates that the total impact of his tour in the United States could be higher than $10 billion. QuestionPro compares the initial $ 5 billion as greater than the gross domestic product of more than 50 countries.
The city of Pittsburgh, for example, reported 145,579 people in attendance for Swift’s two weekend concerts, which were in June. Of those, only 17 percent were from Allegheny County, with the rest coming from further afield, spurring greater travel expenses through plane tickets, hotel stays and more.
County-wide hotel occupancy for that period rose 31 percent from the same time in 2022, reaching 95 percent, with hotel occupancy rates 106 percent higher than ‘and in June 2022. In fact, the month of June beat the highest tax revenue of hotels in the history of the county. .
“Concerts are a huge out-of-town attraction for destinations like Pittsburgh,” said Jerad Bachar, president and CEO of VisitPITTSBURGH. “These concerts are an integral part of our overall calendar of events every year. Last year, we had more than 20 mega concerts in our three stadiums from April to October. Those 20 concerts are critical to everything we do. They also support many other events and venues that are here. … The impact is felt throughout the community.”
The total for Pittsburgh? Approximately $46 million in direct economic impact.
Taylor Swift’s travel era is strong. Tour operators like Contiki are offering combined tour and concert experiences for Swift’s European tour, while others in the industry are finding unique ways to bring Taylor Swift fans together — regardless of whether she’s there or not.
Marvelous Mouse Travels has launched an intimate Taylor Swift fan group cruise experience for next year, reserving 50 staterooms for the group aboard an October 2024 sailing on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas.
“In My Cruise Era,” as the experience is called, quickly sold out the first 50 cabins. The agency opened a maximum of 200 cabins for the experience, which they also sold after the news gained popularity online, earning the travel agency a place in some major headlines. The experience is not affiliated with Taylor Swift herself, but aims to unite Swifties.
Kari Dillon, Owner of Marvelous Mouse Travels, said that the success of the group of her agency is due to a desire “to share in what they love together and invest in experiences”, a desire that her agency, which started to offer holiday theme parks, is built. above
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