Neither the increases in rates from the central banks, nor the aid from governments to keep the economy afloat. The world eagerly awaits the passage of the artist Taylor Swift and her tour ‘The Eras Tour’ by their territories to pump in a sufficient amount of income to reanimate their national figures to the point of avoiding the dreaded recession. His power is so great that even the US Federal Reserve (Fed, for its acronym in English) has included in its latest Beige Book what is known as the ‘Swift effect’ in Philadelphia after the success of his two concerts in May. Estimates suggest that the singer could raise a total of 4.6 billion dollars with his first world tour in five years and would win a billion euros for the concert set.
“Despite the slowing recovery in tourism in the region as a whole, a contact noted that May was the strongest month for hotel revenue in Philadelphia since the start of the pandemic, largely due to the influx of guests for Taylor Swift’s concerts in the city,” says the central bank in the document where it evaluates the United States economy. Swift performed at Lincoln Financial Field from May 12-14, and then moved on to Pittsburgh to continue the tour. According to data collected by Booking.com, hotel prices tripled in advance in some cities where a show by the artist was expected, such as Pittsburgh, Minneapolis and Kansas City. Such has been her interest in her fans that stores were 100% filled in Allegheny Countyone of the municipalities where it would operate, and the booking platforms collapsed due to the skyrocketing increase in traffic on the websites.
And it is not an isolated case. In Chicago they reached record hotel occupancy figures with more than 44,000 hotel rooms and $39 million in profit. The ‘Swifties’, the name given to Taylor Swift fans, have also promoted sustainable mobility in the city: the city registered more than 43,000 trips in the three nights of concerts, its highest number of passengers after the arrival of the covid. In Cincinnati, fans left more than $2.6 million to the downtown hotel industry. In total, the singer moved close to 90 million dollars in the metropolitan area of the city.
140 million direct to GDP
The cities through which the tour will pass are trembling with emotion after knowing some figures: according to estimates by the Common Sense Institute, each concert generates 140 million dollars that go directly to the GDP of the State and fans spend more than $200 million in direct consumption. “Taylor Swift’s entire US tour could generate $4.6 billion in total consumer spending, more than the GDP of 35 countries,” the institute says. In just two concerts in Denver, the Common Sense Institute is aiming for $38 million in ticket sales.
In addition to the United States, Australia is another of the countries where the risk of recession is looming over the country. Swift will perform during the second half of February 2024, and “the pull of mega-events could be enough to help some consumers overcome the confidence and spending subdued,” according to Bloomberg Economics analysis. The analysis includes that the Possible rebound in services spending in the first quarter of 2024 “It will help boost GDP at a time when the full force of the Reserve Bank of Austria’s rate hikes is dampening demand.”
Taylor Swift will perform on May 30, 2024 in Madrid at the new Bermabéu with a capacity of 65,000 people and ticket prices are already through the roof. The cheapest ticket was at 85 euros for the stands and the most expensive, with merchandising included, at 589 euros. Some 450,000 fans have remained on the waiting list and are looking for their opportunity on resale platforms, where prices have risen to 3,500 euros.
‘Tourinflation’
Taking into account that the tour will span five continents with 131 concerts, the ‘Swift effect’ can be a big boost for those economies that are on the brink of recession. The average price of each ticket in the United States is $254. and it reaches $1,000 in cases of preferential access, but the online resale platform StubHub already sells each ticket for more than $1,300 to attend a concert on his tour. If we add to this the merchandising, with prices around 40 dollars for each shirt and other costs of the trip, each fan would spend about 1,300 dollars.
The increase in the price of concert tickets for well-known artists and the cost of hotels is also seen by economists as something negative due to the inflation they cause. is the call ‘tourinflation’, already blamed on the singer Beyoncé in Sweden after announcing several concerts in Stockholm. According to the chief economist in Sweden at Danske Bank, Michael Grahn, the CPI for May fell from 10.5% in April to 9.7% in May due to the prices of cultural events, hotels and restaurants.
Related news :