Live performance tourism is predicted be one of many journey business’s extra profitable drivers this yr, in keeping with Journey.com, and the upcoming international comeback tour by Okay-pop group BTS seems to be reinforcing that pattern.
Flights and resort rooms at their tour areas — in 34 cities throughout Asia, North and South America, Australia, Europe and the UK, from April 2026 to March 2027 — have bought out simply as quick as their live performance seats, and spillover vacationers are anticipated to lend a further earnings enhance to host cities.
Inside 48 hours of the tour announcement on Jan. 13, journey searches for South Korean cities Seoul and Busan elevated by 155% and a couple of,375%, respectively, in contrast with the week earlier than the announcement, in keeping with the journey reserving platform Lodges.com.
The momentum’s additionally prolonged past South Korea. Within the host metropolis Kaohsiung, Taiwan, searches surged 6,700% yr on yr through the Nov. 19 tour date, in keeping with one other journey agent platform, Reserving.com.
Different main excursions anticipated to attract worldwide journey this yr embody these by Bruno Mars, Harry Kinds and Okay-pop group EXO.
Quickest fingers win
A girl poses for a photograph in entrance of the steps displayed with the emblem of BTS’ 2026 album and launch date at Gwanghwamun Sq. in Seoul on January 14, 2026. Okay-pop megastars BTS will launch a comeback world tour from April, the band’s label mentioned on January 14. (Picture by Jung Yeon-je / AFP through Getty Photographs)
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Photographs
Regardless of masking extra areas than they’ve ever had and tripling their ticket stock, BTS’ newest tour titled ‘Arirang,‘ bought out in 20 minutes. Their final “Permission to Dance” tour in 2021-2022 bought out in 5-6 hours.
Followers who had been unable to finish their purchases on account of web connection points or poor reflexes throughout ticket gross sales have needed to resort to the secondhand market.
Resale ‘Arirang’ ticket costs responded to the voracious urge for food of followers, with some tickets featured on the resale platform StubHub going for round $7,276, practically 40 occasions the unique worth, in keeping with checks by CNBC.
Followers additionally struggled to seek out appropriate lodging, as excessive demand fueled worth gouging.
Lodge rooms close to main transit hubs in South Korea had been absolutely booked on BTS’ tour dates, regardless of some charging greater than double typical weekend charges, in accordance to native reviews.
Brief-term tourism enhance
Although live performance vacationers sometimes journey solely to see their idols on stage, their sporadic but concentrated presence can generate sharp spikes in spending, mentioned Prudence Lai, a guide at Euromonitor Worldwide.
That is as a result of the shortage of such one-off occasions, versus the reliability of annual occasions, creates a “as soon as in a lifetime alternative” for followers, which drives up demand and makes the business so profitable, Occasion Tickets Heart’s Chief Advertising Officer, Ben Kruger mentioned.
For comparability, the annual music and humanities pageant Coachella in California generated roughly half as many internet searches as BTS’ ticket announcement managed to acquire, Kruger famous.
There was a concentrated surge in searches for three- and four-star lodging near BTS’ live performance venues throughout host cities, in keeping with Lodges.com.
Extra than simply proximity to live performance venues, these vacationers additionally contemplate different components when selecting an lodging. Vacationers additionally contemplate value, security and repair consistency when reserving lodging, Lai mentioned.
Some lodges are already adjusting to cater to the wants of live performance vacationers. In Spain, Palace Lodge Madrid has ready concierge groups to help transportation planning and eating choices earlier than and after concert events by BTS and Puerto Rican performer Dangerous Bunny, whose world tour overlaps in June.
Concertgoers who add a few days to their journey, alternatively, are extra akin to “enterprise vacationers, including on a leisure journey after the enterprise journey”, Lai mentioned.
She added that versus luxurious vacationers who need the full-on customized expertise, concertgoers solely “need a spot to sleep after which go to the live performance. So it is a very completely different kind of tourism that we’re proper now.”
