The Taylor Swift ‘effect’ boosts tourism in Europe ahead of star's Eras Tour

Semafor Signals

Insights from Le Monde, Politico, and NBC Sports

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Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras Tour in Europe is already making a mark on the cities she’s scheduled to perform in — with hotel prices skyrocketing and European Union officials calling for the megastar to help mobilize voters in upcoming elections.

SIGNALS

Fierce competition for tickets means audiences will travel for Swift

Fans who didn’t secure tickets in their home cities are going the extra mile to see Swift elsewhere. In France, one teenager who missed out on pre-sale tickets for Swift’s Paris show will now travel to see the star in Madrid — adding on a three-day holiday to the Spanish capital with her mother this summer. “That’s the Taylor Swift effect on European tourism,” Le Monde reported. Last year, the U.S. Travel Association found that Swift fans spent an average of $1300 on tickets, travel, and clothing to attend her Era’s Tour — a total that is on par with attendees’ spending for the Super Bowl.

The EU wants Swift to help boost the youth vote

Swift possesses a soft power that can move political markets, one analyst wrote in Politico, “whether she’s interested in being a political actor or not.” On Wednesday European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas urged Swift to use her influence to mobilize voters ahead of European elections in June. Swift, who has more than 272 million followers on Instagram, is increasingly speaking out on political matters. Last September her calls for voters to register in the U.S. saw Vote.org report a 23% jump in registrations compared to the year before.

Back at home Swift’s boosting the NFL’s female fanbase

Among the people reaping the benefits of the ‘Taylor Swift effect’ back in the U.S. is the National Football League (NFL), which has reportedly seen a spike in viewership thanks to Swift’s new relationship with Kansas City Chiefs football player Travis Kelce. A Kelce game the star attended in October drew 27 million viewers, NBC Sports reported — the biggest audience for a Sunday show since the last Super Bowl. Viewership among women and girls, in particular, saw a boost — audiences whom the NFL has long attempted to attract. “Taylor Swift’s stature is such that when she does something, people follow,” a marketing professor told Yahoo Finance. “She’s influencing a group of people and those people are influencing each other and other people. There’s a network effect that’s at play.”