If you thought scoring Taylor Swift tix was a bank-busting endeavor, wait until you try to book a hotel.
As MarketWatch reports, tons of fans made plans to travel to Europe where it is easier and cheaper to nab tix to Swift’s The Eras Tour. But finding a hotel or short-term rental in the cities she’s performing in has been “a pricing nightmare.” Availability is sparse and prices for rooms have doubled and quadrupled typical rates.
And it’s not just a European issue. The phenomenon known as “passion tourism” has hit the U.S. as well, reports IndyStar.
Swift’s The Eras Tour makes its way to Indianapolis this November, and even though it is four months away, accommodations are already scarce. Visit Indy’s executive vice president Chris Gahl says that nearly every hotel room in the city has been snapped up, with prices soaring to triple the norms of 2023.
An estimated 87% of the concertgoers packing the 70,000 seats at Lucas Oil Stadium for each of the singer’s three sold-out shows are coming in from out of town. Gahl says there’s been an Airbnb search surge that dwarfs those timed to previous Indianapolis events — a 7,000% boost in searches compared to last year’s data for the same time frame. This even outpaces the interest generated by the 2024 solar eclipse.
With over 200,000 fans expected to pour into Indianapolis over the concert weekend, the city’s tourism sector is set to witness a historical high—outmatching the search and booking pace for other popular destinations like Miami and Vancouver. The Swift effect showcases the profound impact celebrity tours can have on local economies. If you are a small business owner in a place where the Eras Tour is passing through, our advice is simple: stock up now!
