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 at the forefront of Nikita Rao’s mind as she planned where to go for her family’s annual summer vacation.
Rao, her husband and their two children, who live in Bethesda, Maryland, traveled abroad last weekend: They have tickets for the pop star’s concert on Thursday in Amsterdam.
The family built a week-long itinerary around The Eras Tour event, spending a few days in London before heading to the Netherlands for the show. They likely would have visited the two cities at some point in the future, but the Swift concert sped up their schedule, said Rao, 43, who also saw a performance in Cincinnati with her daughter last year.
“My take on it was that we should do that — London and Amsterdam — because that’s where she’s going to be,” Rao said. “If I get tickets, it will just make the whole vacation amazing,” she said of her thought process.
Why Taylor Swift is unique in “passion tourism”.
Taylor Swift fans gather outside the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for a concert in Madrid, Spain on May 29, 2024.
David Benito | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
It’s not just the Rao family.
Americans are flocking abroad to see Taylor Swift, perhaps the most prominent example of so-called “passion tourism” in recent memory, according to travel experts.
Passion tourism is (unsurprisingly) about people’s passions. While location is generally also important, these trips are generally driven by personal interests, hobbies or a cultural event, experts say.
This is not a new concept. In fact, there are many current and upcoming examples: the annual February Carnival festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; April’s total solar eclipse in North America; the 2024 Paris Olympics, which begin this month; and the ongoing UEFA European Football Championship (known as the Euro Cup) in Germany.
“Memorable events drive travel trends, whether at concerts or sporting events,” Mastercard recently wrote in its annual travel trends report.
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But what sets Taylor Swift concerts apart in the realm of passion tourism, travel agents say, is the widespread interest and enthusiasm among Americans looking to travel abroad.
“I have never experienced such excitement traveling to see an artist,” said Jessica Griscavage, travel advisor and founder of Runway Travel.
The most recent example that might come close to this was a Spice Girls concert in the 1990s, she said.
Griscavage, who put together the Rao family itinerary, also put together a separate Swift-focused trip to Paris for a daughter, mother and grandmother.
According to a survey by Morning Consult, more than half of Americans, 53%, describe themselves as fans of Taylor Swift. About 16% describe themselves as “avid” fans.
“Beyoncé is big too, but we don’t usually get requests like, ‘I have Beyoncé tickets to Europe and we want to create a trip around that theme,'” said Sofia Markovich, travel advisor and founder of Sofia’s Travel.
She organized trips for two US clients who had tickets to Taylor Swift shows in England and Switzerland, respectively.
“Just as Grateful Dead fans were known for following the band from city to city to be part of a unique community, Swifties – often with friends and family in tow – made traveling to their concerts part of the experience made,” says Joshua Friedlander, vice president of research at the US Travel Association, recently wrote about the so-called “Swift Lift.”
“Inevitable” that Swifties travel to new places
According to Mastercard’s travel report, around 15.9 million Americans traveled abroad in the first quarter of 2024, an all-time high. Consumer spending on travel is also at record levels worldwide, it said.
Experts say passion tourism generally provides an economic boost to host countries.
For example, tourist spending at restaurants, bars and grocery stores was 156% higher than normal during the 2024 Rio Carnival, Mastercard found. During the eclipse, hotel sales in the overall U.S. market rose 71%, it said.
Spectators watch the solar eclipse at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana, April 8, 2024.
Photo only | Getty Images
According to recent analysis by Barclays, around 1.2 million fans will attend a Taylor Swift concert in four UK cities (Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cardiff and London) this summer. Each fan will spend an average of 848 British pounds (about $1,073) on tickets, travel, accommodation, outfits and other expenses, bringing the total to 997 million British pounds (about $1.3 billion), it was estimated Barclays.
According to Barclays analysis, accommodation is the biggest expense after tickets, followed by travel.
Searches for Airbnb stays in European cities during tour dates of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour increased by about 70% compared to the same period in 2023, according to a recent analysis.
Beyoncé is big too, but we don’t usually get requests like, “I have Beyoncé tickets to Europe and we want to plan a trip around that theme.”
Sofia Markovich
Travel Advisor
Rome and Paris have traditionally been among the most popular travel destinations for Americans abroad. But it’s “inevitable” that Swift fans will end up in a city they might have previously overlooked, like Edinburgh, said Christopher Nulty, global head of corporate communications and public affairs at Airbnb.
When tickets for concert dates in Edinburgh went on sale last year, searches from Americans for accommodation in the city increased by 500%, Nulty said.
A concert “combines the opportunity to travel to an incredible place with the opportunity to see an artist you love,” he said.
The budgetary economics of ticket sales also likely play a role, experts said. Some Swifties who have been shut out of the US market due to ticket costs may find it cheaper overall (or at a comparable price) to purchase a ticket and add the associated travel costs to a concert abroad.
“Reselling tickets in Europe is much cheaper than in the U.S.,” said Griscavage, the travel consultant.
Additionally, “I think there’s something really exciting about seeing them in a city outside of the United States,” she added. “It’s a great opportunity and people are willing to pay to see it.”
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2024-07-02 16:00:18
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