Taylor Swift performs on stage during The Eras Tour on June 28, 2024 in Dublin, Ireland.
Charles Mcquillan/tas24 | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Taylor Swift’s European tour was top of mind for Nikita Rao when planning where to go for her family’s annual summer vacation.
Rao, her husband and two kids, who live in Bethesda, Maryland, headed overseas this past weekend: They’ve tickets to the pop star’s concert in Amsterdam on Thursday.
The family built a weeklong itinerary around The Eras Tour event, spending a couple of days in London before making their method to the Netherlands for the show. They might have likely visited the 2 cities sooner or later in the long run, however the Swift concert accelerated their timeline, said Rao, 43, who also saw a performance in Cincinnati last yr together with her daughter.
“My view on it was, we should always do that — London and Amsterdam — because she’ll be there,” Rao said. “If I can get tickets, that’ll just make the entire vacation amazing,” she said of her thought process.
Why Taylor Swift is exclusive to ‘passion tourism’
Taylor Swift fans gather outside Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for a concert in Madrid, Spain, on May 29, 2024.
David Benito | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
It isn’t just the Rao family.
Americans are flocking overseas to see Taylor Swift, perhaps essentially the most outstanding recent example of so-called “passion tourism,” in keeping with travel experts.
Passion tourism revolves (unsurprisingly) around people’s passions. While place can be generally essential, these trips are generally guided by personal interest, hobby or a cultural event, experts said.
This is not a recent concept. In truth, there are lots of recent and upcoming examples: February’s annual Carnival festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; April’s total solar eclipse in North America; the 2024 Paris Olympics that start this month; and the continued UEFA European Football Championship (referred to as the Euro Cup) in Germany.
“Memorable events are driving travel trends, whether it’s for concert events or sporting events,” Mastercard wrote recently in its annual travel trends report.
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Nevertheless, what distinguishes Taylor Swift concert events within the realm of passion tourism is the broad interest and enthusiasm amongst Americans who need to travel abroad, in keeping with travel agents.
“I’ve never seen this excitement to travel to go see an artist,” said Jessica Griscavage, a travel advisor and founding father of Runway Travel.
Essentially the most recent example which may come close is a Spice Girls concert within the Nineteen Nineties, she said.
Griscavage, who put together the Rao family’s itinerary, also assembled a separate Swift-centered trip to Paris for a daughter, mother and grandmother.
Greater than half of Americans, 53%, discover as fans of Taylor Swift, in keeping with a poll by Morning Seek the advice of. About 16% consider themselves “avid” fans.
“Beyoncé is big, too, but we do not often get requests like, ‘I actually have Beyoncé tickets for Europe and we would like to construct a visit around it,'” said Sofia Markovich, a travel advisor and founding father of Sofia’s Travel.
She assembled trips for 2 U.S. clients who had tickets for Taylor Swift shows in England and Switzerland, respectively.
“Just as Grateful Dead fans were known to follow the band from city to city to be a part of a singular community, Swifties — often with family and friends in tow — have made traveling to her concert events a part of the experience,” Joshua Friedlander, vice chairman of research on the U.S. Travel Association, wrote recently concerning the so-called “Swift Lift.”
‘Inevitable’ that Swifties will travel to recent places
About 15.9 million Americans traveled internationally in the primary quarter of 2024, an all-time high, in keeping with Mastercard’s travel report. Consumers are also spending for travel at record levels globally, it said.
Passion tourism generally provides an economic boost to host nations, experts said.
For instance, spending by tourists at restaurants, bars and grocery stores in the course of the 2024 Carnival in Rio was 156% above normal, Mastercard found. In the course of the solar eclipse, hotel sales inside the U.S. path of totality rose 71%, it said.
Spectators looking up on the solar eclipse on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana, on April 8, 2024.
Nurphoto | Getty Images
About 1.2 million fans will see a Taylor Swift concert this summer across 4 cities in the UK (Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cardiff and London), in keeping with a recent Barclays evaluation. Each fan will spend a mean 848 British kilos (about $1,073) on tickets, travel, accommodation, outfits and other expenses, amounting to a complete 997 million British kilos (about $1.3 billion), Barclays estimated.
Accommodation accounts for the biggest outlay after tickets, followed by travel, in keeping with the Barclays evaluation.
Searches for Airbnb stays in European cities during Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour dates are up about 70% relative to the identical period in 2023, in keeping with a recent evaluation.
Beyoncé is big, too, but we do not often get requests like, ‘I actually have Beyoncé tickets for Europe and we would like to construct a visit around it.’
Sofia Markovich
travel advisor
Rome and Paris are traditionally amongst Americans’ top destinations to go to abroad. Nevertheless, it’s “inevitable” that Swift fans will find yourself in a city they might have previously missed, like Edinburgh, said Christopher Nulty, global head of corporate communications and public affairs at Airbnb.
When tickets went on sale last yr for Edinburgh concert dates, searches for lodging in the town by Americans jumped 500%, Nulty said.
A concert “combines the chance to travel somewhere incredible with the chance to see an artist they love,” he said.
The household economics of ticket sales are also likely playing a task, experts said. Some Swifties who were priced out of the U.S. market on account of ticket expense may find it cheaper overall (or comparably priced) to purchase a ticket and add on the associated travel expenses for a concert overseas.
“The resale tickets in Europe are rather more reasonable than what they’re within the U.S.,” said Griscavage, the travel advisor.
Moreover, “I feel there’s something really exciting about seeing her in a non-U.S. city,” she added. “It is a fun opportunity and persons are willing to pay to see her.”