Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour may end up being one of the highest-grossing tours of all time, and her fans’ hunger for the show may point to a larger economic trend.
Key Details
- After being locked away inside during the pandemic, consumers are eager to catch up on missed experiences—and they are spending in a big way.
- Swift makes around $10 million each night of her Eras Tour and may be the first artist to gross more than $1 billion while on tour, The Future Party reports.
- But fans’ insatiable spending habits are not only linked to tickets and merch—they are also spending big on plane tickets, transportation, lodging, and apparel.
Why it’s news
During COVID, many consumers missed in-person events like concerts and festivals. Now that these events are back, fans are returning in a big way—funding multiple industries and boosting local economies.
Before Swift arrives in each city on the planned tour, the area prepares for an economic boom from all the fans expected to travel. Many will stay in the area for at least one night, meaning local hotels and restaurants can expect a boost in business when Swift is in town.
In Glendale, Arizona, the influx of fans was so significant that the town temporarily renamed itself “Swift City.” Fans from around the world flocked to the town, causing hotel prices to soar.
Swift stayed in Houston for three nights, resulting in the city’s highest hotel revenue in a week during 2023, The Future Party reports. As demand soared, hotel prices were higher than during the NCAA’s Final Four basketball tournament.
In one of Swift’s most recent performances in Philadelphia, the Courtyard Marriott near the 65,000-seat stadium where she performed was totally booked—an unusual occurrence for the facility.
Retailers are also benefiting from the Swift tour, as fans buy Eras costumes and splurge on makeup and other accessories.
Backing up a bit
Just like the Swift concert brings extra revenue to a city, conferences and corporate events represent an economic boost for their venues. Conferences, conventions, and expositions are returning and bringing new life to struggling industries with them.
The ConExpo, the largest construction and industry event in the U.S., attracted 140,000 construction workers, business owners, and suppliers to Las Vegas in March. The crowds marked the event’s largest monthly attendance since before the pandemic.
Pandemic-related concerns stopped most conferences from happening in the last couple of years, but in-person events are making a comeback.
These events also represent essential economic stimulus for the cities where they are held, as conferences bring in hundreds, sometimes thousands, of out-of-town customers, The Wall Street Journal reports.