- Europe is already experiencing an economic boost as Swifties prepare for The Eras Tour.
- Taylor Swift’s record-breaking tour will go to 18 European cities this summer.
- Swift’s US tour boosted hotel revenues across the country and affected the economy.
Another day, another drama, another economy stimulated.
Taylor Swift is taking her Eras Tour to 18 European cities this year, and the continent is already seeing financial gains.
The financial impacts that Swift’s billion-dollar tour had on the US have been well reported, but the specifics of how she may rock Europe’s economy are now taking shape.
Hotels and short-term rentals in the European cities where Swift is performing this summer are already filling up.
By August 2023, hotels in Cardiff and Liverpool in the UK — where Swift will be stopping in June — had already reached occupancy levels of more than 50% for her tour dates, hotel research firm STR reported. That’s even with price hikes: In Cardiff, rooms are going for $230 more than they typically do, hospitality analytics firm Lighthouse found.
By December, demand for short-term rentals during Swift’s tour dates in Vienna was up 1,989% year-over-year — really, 1989 — and in Warsaw, Poland, it was up 2020%, according to vacation rental data firm AirDNA.
French newspaper Le Monde reported that more than 250,000 people will attend her concerts in Paris and Lyon, leading to an economic boost from increased transportation and hotel revenue.
It’s not just locals who will be making the trek: American Swifties are traveling overseas to attend where the concert tickets are cheaper, The New York Times reported.
The phenomenon mirrors what occurred in the US when Swift brought her blockbuster tour to 20 cities last year.
Tickets to the Eras Tour became a status symbol, with fans doling out as much as $20,000 — including travel to, and tickets for, multiple shows — in Eras-related expenses.
In June, survey firm QuestionPro estimated that the first leg of the North American Eras Tour could generate $4.6 billion in consumer spending, with the average concertgoer spending $1,300 per show — including travel, merch, food and drink, and tickets.
STR estimates that hotel revenue saw a — conservative — $208 million bump in the US thanks to the popstar.
Even the Federal Reserve highlighted her impact, noting how her tour led to a boost in hotel revenue in Philadelphia. The term “Taylor Swift” was mentioned in 108 quarterly conference calls last year, according to market research firm AlphaSense, and Goldman Sachs named one of its reports after her lyrics.
“Taylor Swift is practically a one-woman global economic stimulus program,” Nick Mazing, the director of research at AlphaSense, told BI over email, pointing to a JPMorgan report that she will bring a $140 million “windfall” to Melbourne and Sydney with her upcoming concerts in Australia.
The global economic infusion only grew when Swift released the concert film of the tour, which has since become the highest-grossing concert film of all time. “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” has earned $262 million globally and $182 million domestically.
Get ready, Europe. As Swift says: “I made you my world. Have you heard? I can reclaim the land.”
