After helping boost the US economy with The Eras Tour, her record-breaking series of worldwide shows, Taylor Swift is now spreading her influence across Europe.
A report by online travel booking company eDreams Odigeo says Swift’s fans, known as Swifties, are spurring massive air travel demand to Europe.
Swift is performing multiple stadium tours between May and August, starting with Paris on May 9 and concluding in London on August 20.
Demand for flights to Stockholm between May 17 and 19, when the star is due to perform, has jumped six-fold from the same period a year ago, eDreams says. Meanwhile, demand for flights to Warsaw, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Paris on the days around Swift’s concerts jumped 339 per cent, 176 per cent, 133 per cent and 108 per cent, respectively.
Transatlantic demand has risen the most, the Barcelona-based company says, suggesting strong interest from American Swifties in the European performances.
Besides the top five cities, demand has risen in cities such as Zurich, Lyon, Milan, Amsterdam, Vienna and Madrid, where Taylor will also perform.
This unusual pattern reflects Swift’s influence on the music scene and her substantial economic impact. Her positive effect on the US economy has been dubbed “Swiftonomics”, a term coined to describe her big-spending fanbase who are willing to pay over the odds on tickets, hotels, merchandise and other auxiliary costs in the cities she performs in.
Her gravitas is likely to be a welcome boost to many across the continent, which has been battling to avoid a recession following the widespread economic downturn.
The pop star concluded the first US leg of The Eras Tour in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium in August last year, where her six-night residency delivered a $320 million boost to Los Angeles County’s GDP and $160 million in local earnings, a report from the California Centre for Jobs showed.
The Eras Tour was projected to have a $5 billion economic impact on the US, according to software company QuestionPro. That would produce a GDP larger than 50 countries.
It is also Swift’s first stadium tour since 2018 and her most expansive yet, with 151 shows across five continents. It will conclude in Vancouver on December 8.
The Eras Tour surpassed $1 billion in revenue in December, making it history’s highest-grossing music tour, according to Guinness World Records.
Swift released an accompanying film, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, in October 13, which recently became the highest-grossing concert film of all-time, earning $261.6 million worldwide. It received acclaim from critics and has also been nominated for multiple awards.
Swift was also Spotify’s most-streamed artist last year with more than 26.1 billion streams since January 1. In recognition of her impact, Time magazine named her their Person of the Year in December.