Amadeus data shows major concerts driving international tourism interest

International interest in upcoming concerts by Taylor Swift and Coldplay in Australia and the Asia Pacific is driving regional tourism.

Taylor Swift's highly anticipated Asia Pacific tour has not only caused a sensation among music fans with recent data1 analysis by travel technology company Amadeus revealing that the cities hosting significant concerts are experiencing noteworthy surges in travel searches.

Amadeus data researchers noted statistically significant rises in travel searches to the cities in which the concerts are taking place, including Melbourne, Sydney, Tokyo and Singapore.

Amadeus data showed searches for flights to Sydney and Melbourne by overseas travellers surged 44% in late June, when tickets for Swift's Australian shows went on sale.

Much of the interest came from New Zealanders, with flight searches from New Zealand to Australia surging 240%.

Most of the interest saw searches for shorter trips for a few days rather than longer stays of more than a week, indicating, according to Amadeus, that the concert significantly impacted leisure travel booking over business travel during the same period.

Travel search spikes occurred in week 24 and week 27 of the year with the first spike in week 24 correlating with the concert announcements of Coldplay and the second spike in week 27 correlating with Taylor Swift concert ticket sales.

The total searches to Singapore grew by 18% on average week-over-week between weeks 23 and 27, covering both Taylor Swift and Coldplay concert announcements.

Trips within a week and weekend trips were preferred over long trips, with searches for trips within a week growing by 20% in the same time frame. The data suggests that the concerts are the main drivers for this increase in comparison to the previous weeks.

Japan - July 2023 (weeks 28 to 30)
The announcement of lottery results on 25th July for Taylor Swift's concert in Japan sparked an average rise of 15% in domestic searches between weeks 28 and 30 and 10% in international searches to Tokyo between weeks 29 and 30.

Subsequently, international searches from neighbouring countries to Tokyo spiked by 32% week-over-week from weeks 29 to 30.

Inbound travellers from APAC countries - Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand - were primarily interested in both shorter and longer trips, indicating that they travel with the aim of attending the concert while simultaneously extending their stay for leisure purposes.

Image: Taylor Swift performs at Madison Square Garden, New York, USA in 2019. Credit: Shutterstock.