Amadeus data shows major concerts driving international tourism interest

October 22, 2023

Entertainment / Tourism / Venues /

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.

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16th October 2023 - Two Western Australian bands announced as supporting acts for Coldplay Perth concerts

4th October 2023 - National survey reveals Australians want more live music venues

18th September 2023 - Live Nation study finds that fans are more loyal to brands that offer live music perks

7th September 2023 - Apparent error sees Accor hotel group offer tickets for Taylor Swift’s 2024 Sydney concerts

1st September 2023 - ATEC concerned about high airfares and limited capacity damaging tourism exports

28th August 2023 - Pollstar report advises of records tumbling for Australian and New Zealand concerts

22nd August 2023 - Emerging Western Australian music act to support Coldplay at Optus Stadium

10th July 2023 - Colatour selects Amadeus technology to help with Asian expansion of tourism offerings

6th July 2023 - Consumer group expresses concern about use of facial recognition technology at major Australian stadia

30th June 2023 - Half a billion bots competing with consumers for Taylor Swift tickets

29th June 2023 - Promoters announce new Taylor Swift dates as NSW Fair Trading steps in on ticket resales

27th June 2023 - Calls for enforcement of anti-scalping laws in wake of soaring resale prices for Taylor Swift concerts

24th June 2023 - Taylor Swift tour to boost the economy and physical activity?

15th May 2023 - Coldplay reveals Asian tour dates and second Optus Stadium concert as Western Australian Government issues ticket scalping warning

10th May 2023 - Tourism coup for Western Australia with Coldplay to play one-off concert at Perth’s Optus Stadium

10th February 2023 - Travel technology company Amadeus identifies how Australians will travel in 2033

31st December 2022 - Ambitious contemporary Amadeus production first event to kick off Opera House’s 50th anniversary program

24th November 2019 - Coldplay pause touring until they can reduce environmental impact of concerts

28th April 2015 - Amadeus study reveals the future traveller

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