Taylor Swift fans cause influx in European air travel
Look what she made them do.
International Swifties are reportedly responsible for an influx in air travel during Taylor Swift’s European leg of her blockbuster Eras Tour.
Ahead of the pop sensation’s shows in Lisbon, Portugal, United Airlines told CNN it has seen an increase in interest for tickets to the city, up 25% from last year at this same time.
Meanwhile, Swift’s future tour stops, like Dublin and Madrid later this summer, are also in high demand, and bookings to Milan, Italy, and Munich, Germany, have seen a surge in demand of 45%, as Swifties live out their wildest dreams of seeing their favorite pop star live.
Delta Air Lines, which is gearing up for its biggest summer of travel yet with newly added destinations and flights, told CNN that the airline is also seeing an increase in demand for international flights amid Swift’s tour.
Since its kick-off, the record-breaking Eras Tour has spurred an increase in global concert tourism, dubbed the “Taylor Swift Economy” or “Swiftonomics,” as devout fans flock to cities around the world — wherever they can get their hands on the coveted tickets.
For American fans unable to attend in their home country, cheaper ticket prices overseas became and alluring and attainable prospect. In Paris, 20% of the arena’s tickets were held by Americans, and in Sweden, an estimated 10,000 fans from the US flocked to the Stockholm’s Friends Arena.
Jennifer Warren, from St. Catharines, Ontario, purchased tickets for Swift’s Hamburg, Germany, show after failing to snag reasonably priced seats in North America. Instead of shelling out hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for hiked-up resale tickets, the 43-year-old scored three VIP tickets for $646 each.
In Toronto, Warren said “nose-bleed seats” were in the thousands. Buying the tickets overseas, then, was a no-brainer.
“You get out, you get to see the world, and you get to see your favorite artist or performer at the same time, so there are a lot of wins to it,” she told The Associated Press.