Vancouver, Canada’s tourism agency estimates the final three dates of billionaire pop star Taylor Swift’s massive Eras Tour will boost the city’s economy by $157 million, making it the final city on the singer’s blockbuster tour to estimate an economic jolt in the nine digits.
Key Facts
- Tourism agency Destination Vancouver and BC Pavillion Corporation, owner of the BC Place venue Swift will play three times this weekend, said $97 million of the anticipated economic boost will come from direct spending on hospitality, food and transportation, generating $27 million in tax revenue for the government.
- Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp told the Australian Broadcasting Company Swift’s February stop in the country—seven dates split between Melbourne and Sydney—would generate $1.2 billion in Australian dollars for Melbourne alone, in economic value.
- Swift’s eight-show stint in London—three shows in June and another five in August—genereated an estimated £300 million for the local economy (about $380 million in U.S. dollars), tourism agency London & Partners estimated, citing 700,000 in total concert attendance and increased flight and hotel bookings.
- The California Center for Jobs & the Economy estimated Swift’s six-show Los Angeles run in August 2023 generated $320 million for the local economy, calling the post-pandemic boost in tourism “critical” and stating local employment would increase by 3,300.
- The Japanese-based Economic Impact Research Laboratory estimated Swift’s four Tokyo dates in February would generate ¥34.1 billion (about $228 million) for Japan and ¥24.37 billion (about $163 million) for Tokyo alone.
- Maybank, a southeast Asian bank that serves multiple countries including Singapore, estimated Swift’s six Singapore dates would generate between $260 million and $375 million in tourism revenue, after its inclusion as the only southeast Asian nation on the tour caused fans from neighboring countries to seek tickets.
- Economic development agency Greater New Orleans Inc. estimated the Eras Tour would boost the city’s economy by about $200 million, citing about 200,000 tickets sold and boosts to tourism expenses.
Forbes Valuation
Forbes estimates Swift’s net worth at $1.6 billion. The Eras Tour pushed her over the billionaire threshold last year, making her the first musician to make the Forbes billionaire list solely based on the value of their music catalog and concert tours. Swift surpassed Rihanna to become the world’s richest female musician in October, according to Forbes estimates.
What We Don’t Know
How much the Eras Tour will have grossed once it’s all over. It became the first tour to surpass $1 billion in total gross last year, making it the highest-grossing tour of all time before it had even reached the halfway mark. Last year, touring trade publication Pollstar projected the Eras Tour would gross about $2.2 billion in total.
News Peg
Swift will perform her final Eras Tour show on Sunday in Vancouver. Though she has previously extended the tour several times to include international legs and a final North American stop, she clarified at a concert in June the Vancouver dates will be the end of the tour. “This is the very first time I’ve ever acknowledged to myself and admitted that this tour is gonna end in December,” Swift said onstage in Liverpool, England, stating the tour had “become my entire” and “taken over everything.”
Key Background
The tour kicked off in March 2023 in Glendale, Arizona, the first of 149 dates spanning five continents. The Eras Tour had a significant cultural and political impact, sparking criticism, congressional hearings and a Department of Justice lawsuit over Ticketmaster’s alleged monopoly of the concert industry. The tour was disrupted by a foiled terrorist plot that targeted the singer’s planned three-date stop in Vienna in August, prompting Swift to cancel the shows. Swift also used the tour as a promotional effort, announcing the release dates of re-recorded albums “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” and “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” onstage, and she modified her setlist in May to accommodate her latest record, “The Tortured Poets Department.” Swift released a concert tour film in October 2023, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” which grossed $261 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing concert film of all time.
Tangent
Some American Swifties have faced struggles traveling to Canada to attend the Eras Tour because of border laws that prevent those who have a record of driving while impaired from entering, The Washington Post reported. Canadian attorney Marisa Feil told the Post she has helped dozens of Swifties in recent weeks get approval to cross the border by helping them submit applications to a border agent, a quicker option than obtaining a temporary visitor’s permit or processing criminal rehabilitation.
This story was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
