Destinations Known | Taylor Swift needs to speak out on climate breakdown as fans drive concert tourism – so why isn’t she?
- Taylor Swift’s fans travel from far and wide to see the superstar’s shows, spending millions of dollars on flights, hotels, food and more
- Swift – and other performers like Blackpink and Beyoncé – have the power to wake up millions to the risks of climate change and need to be more vocal about it
Was Taylor Swift’s recent experience in Brazil a canary-in-the-coal-mine moment for the travel and tourism industry?
The American singer has become something of a mobile tourist attraction, with Swifties – as her fans are known – swooping in their thousands from places where she isn’t performing to places where she is.
And, “When Taylor Swift comes to town, Swifties go on a spending spree,” as The Wall Street Journal puts it. “It’s simple Taylornomics.”
Or Swiftonomics, as other publications dub the effect; she’s a “twin-nomics” phenomenon is Ms Swift.
Between March and August, during the 20-city United States leg of her ongoing Eras Tour, it’s estimated by The Washington Post that “Swift’s fans spent about US$93 million per show – yes, on tickets, but also on merchandise, travel, hotels, food and outfits. Add all that up, and by the end of the US tour, you’ve got a US$5.7 billion boost to the country’s economy.”
As Swift worked her way across America, The Wall Street Journal reported, “Her fans have been filling hotels, packing restaurants and crowding bars. Cities say the tour has helped them recover from the economic toll of the pandemic by bringing back tourists and their wallets.
