At this point, there’s really nowhere on the internet where you can avoid Taylor Swift (perhaps to her detriment), and with her globetrotting world tour continuing through mid-August with dates in Oceania, Asia and Europe, there’s likely to be very little space on the planet where her presence won’t be felt.
Do you doubt that? During the Erastour US concerts, the economic impact of Swift’s fans was so great that the Mastercard Economic Research Institute named it the “Swift Lift.” Swift’s fans are willing to spend money with such volume and enthusiasm that it has attracted the attention of all related industries, and everyone is hoping for a share of the glitter.
According to a recent report by the institute, Swift’s fans generated more than $100 million in increased restaurant sales at 20 concert venues during the Eraser Tour alone. According to the U.S. Travel Association, tour-goers spent an average of $1,300 on travel, hotels, meals and merchandise. The NFL has also benefited, with Swift’s relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce bringing in a new audience and boosting jersey sales.
The cultural investment in Swift is so deep that it has spawned a mini-industry of entirely new trips and experiences. Fans can now take multiple (unofficial) Taylor Swift-themed cruises and a dedicated Taylor Swift walking tour in New York City. Airlines, hotels, tourist boards, and everyone else are publicly promoting themselves as fans to win over fans. American Airlines named one of its flights to the Super Bowl “AA1989” after Taylor (after her album “1989”). On Airbnb, you can find exclusive Taylor Swift-themed rentals in cities like Nashville and Phoenix.
Group travel company KonTiki is taking things a step further for the Erastour’s European legs: Knowing that fans are willing to travel far to see their favorite artists in concert, the company, which specializes in group travel for 18-35 year olds (Swift’s core fanbase), is offering new packages focused on five of Swift’s upcoming tour dates.
This package includes 9-14 days of additional travel with Taylor Swift fans around Erastour stops. These Contiki tours offer many of the same attractions and destinations as the traditional itinerary, but the overall experience is planned with Taylor Swift fans in mind.
“We timed it especially well. [these tours] “It will coincide with Taylor’s Erasus tour,” KonTiki’s chief marketing officer Lottie Norman told Thrillist, “and will either begin following the night of the show or end before she takes the stage.”
The first of Swifty KonTiki’s five itineraries, “European Magic,” will hit seven countries over nine days from May 12-21, immediately following Swift’s Paris show. The tour is currently on sale on KonTiki’s website for $1,636 and includes eight nights’ accommodation, eight breakfasts and three dinners. Additional itineraries will coincide with Erastour’s stops in Stockholm, London and Dublin.
“The idea is that people traveling to Europe for concerts can join this special tour and meet like-minded people,” Norman said. “So they can travel with other Swifties and have a shared experience, enhancing their travel experience.”
Norman explained that the tours will include Taylor-esque elements throughout, such as a Taylor Swift-inspired song of the day that the tour leader will sing in the morning to kick off the day’s activities, and time to make friendship bracelets.
“The truth is, there’s a Taylor-ness to the whole tour,” Norman said. “It’s really about the experience of traveling and connecting with like-minded people.”
The urge to find like-minded people and share the experience of enjoying the things we love is not unique to Taylor Swift fans: Many are already considering getting into debt or spending their entire tax refunds on the possibility that Beyoncé might tour for the second time in two years with her just-announced Act II. The phenomenon extends beyond music fans: A recent TripIt survey found that the percentage of Americans planning a pop culture trip has doubled from 22% to 40% in the last year.
With a big pop star like Swift, there’s an added sense of urgency that fans don’t want to miss, which leads people to spend money in ways they normally wouldn’t. “If you want to go see Taylor Swift, you have to figure out how to make that happen,” Michelle Mayer, president and chief economist at Mastercard’s Economics Institute, told Thrillist in an interview.
Even after Swift’s Kon-Tiki tour wraps up in late August and the megastar wraps up one more show on her massive Erasu tour, don’t expect the craze to end anytime soon. The question is, are you ready for it?
“Taylor Swift’s impact is still nascent, not only with the tour she has planned for this year, but also with the release of her new album, which was just announced,” Meyer explained. “She has a lot of momentum going into the next year or two, or even longer.”
