Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ could be worth almost $1 billion to British economy

By Anna Cooban, CNN

London (CNN) — Taylor Swift’s smash-hit “Eras Tour” is set to boost spending in the United Kingdom by nearly $1 billion, according to estimates by Barclays.

The British bank said in a report Wednesday that it expects nearly 1.2 million Swifties to attend the superstar’s shows in the UK this summer, with the typical fan expected to spend £642 ($810) on travel, accommodation and other expenses — injecting a total of £755 million ($953 million) into the economy.

It is just the latest example of “Swiftonomics” — the musician’s ability to influence the economies of the cities and countries that she visits on her mammoth global tour, which kicked off in March last year in the United States.

Fans are likely to fork out £121 ($153) for accommodation, £111 ($140) for travel and £59 ($74) in restaurants around the venues, according to Barclays, which based its estimates on customer transaction data and proprietary consumer research.

Swift will perform 15 shows across four UK cities in England, Wales and Scotland in June and August. The concerts sold out within minutes of tickets going on sale, with fans spending £206 ($260) on average on a single ticket, Barclays said.

Including the ticket price, UK concertgoers will spend, on average, £848 ($1,068) each, which is more than 12 times the average cost of a night out in the UK, according to Barclays’ research.

While the price tag may seem hefty, it’s much less than many Americans will pay to see the “Eras Tour” back home. And it is well worth it for Swifties, says Dr Peter Brooks, chief behavioral scientist at Barclays.

“When it comes to cultural icons like Taylor Swift — like we saw with Elvis and Beatlemania in the 50s and 60s — supporters have such a strong connection to the artist and to the rest of the fandom that the desire to spend becomes even more powerful,” Brooks wrote in the report.

“For ‘Eras Tour’ ticketholders, every pound they spend is an investment in the memories they’ll create,” he added.

Many Swifties are prepared to go to even greater lengths to see their idol live. Almost a fifth of Swift’s fans in the UK who responded to a survey commissioned by Barclays last month said they planned to travel to mainland Europe to see the singer perform.

That’s “possibly due to ticket availability, cheaper travel and accommodation costs, or simply so that (fans) can combine the concert with (a) holiday or city break,” the bank wrote in its report.

The European leg of the “Eras Tour” includes concerts in Sweden, Portugal, Spain, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Poland and Austria this year.

Some of Swift’s American fans are also choosing to travel overseas to see her perform. Even with flights and accommodation expenses factored in, the overall cost of attending one of Swift’s shows in Europe is often lower than in the United States, where ticket prices are much higher.

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