Taylor Swift's Eras tour is set to trigger a wave of European travel as fans follow the pop superstar across the continent. The tour, which begins in Paris on 9 May and concludes in London on 20 August, includes 49 dates in 18 cities, prompting many Swifties to register for tickets in multiple destinations to improve their chances.
Tim Brown, 44, and his wife Marcella, 34, from Norwich, secured tickets for Lisbon and turned the trip into a weekend break. “I used to live in Lisbon so I thought why not kill two birds with one stone,” said Tim. “We booked ourselves flights and four nights’ accommodation the same day.”
The unique ticketing system, which required pre-registration for access codes, inadvertently encouraged fans to apply for shows across Europe. Katie Soo, chief business officer of ticketing firm DICE, noted: “The excitement and uncertainty inherent in the ticket-purchasing process might have inadvertently incentivised fans to apply for tickets in multiple cities.”
Hotels and short-term rentals are already feeling the impact. Travelodge rooms in Edinburgh, Liverpool and Cardiff for Swift’s June dates have been sold out since August 2023. In Paris, 80% of hotels and apartments on Booking.com are fully booked, while Warsaw has only 9% availability for her August concert.
Even less touristy cities are seeing a surge. In Gelsenkirchen, Germany, where Swift plays in July, two-bedroom apartments are going for €800-2,000 a night. AirDNA reports year-on-year rental rate spikes of about 30% in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Milan, with Vienna experiencing the most notable increase: booking rates for Swift’s concert nights in August were 44% higher in February than the previous year.
