MADRID, 24 May. (Distrito) –
Taylor Swift’s presence in Madrid for her two concerts of ‘The Eras Tour’ on May 29 and 30 is already having an economic impact. Specifically, train trips from Spanish cities to Madrid have tripled and Madrid hoteliers have estimated an impact close to 20 million euros in accommodation, catering, and entertainment establishments.
The economic influence of the artist has been dubbed ‘Swiftonomics’, referring to the tour’s ability to generate movement -which has already been called the most profitable in US history- and in that sense, a study by the Trainline platform shows that on the Seville-Madrid route, the number of passengers has tripled during the week of the concert, while on the Barcelona-Madrid and Valencia-Madrid routes, it has doubled.
Catalan ‘swifties’ (Taylor Swift fans) have also chosen to attend the concert that the American singer will offer in Lyon, which is why the number of train tickets for the Barcelona-French city route has tripled for the next week.
The artist, who is visiting Spain for the first time in 12 years with an expected attendance of over 60,000 people each day, was the most listened to artist in the world on Spotify in 2023, accumulating a total of 26 billion streams throughout last year and among Spanish listeners she was the fifth most listened to female artist.
MADRID HOTELIERS ESTIMATE AN IMPACT OF 10 MILLION EUROS
In the case of hotel occupancy in Madrid, the city’s hoteliers have estimated an impact close to 20 million euros in accommodation, catering, and entertainment establishments as a result of the two singer’s concerts.
In a statement, Hostelería Madrid has detailed that the scheduled events at the Santiago Bernabéu will bring together around 52,000 attendees who will spend an average of 20 euros in hospitality establishments located around the stadium.
In addition, the organization has anticipated -as confirmed by the Trainline study- that 30% of the total audience, about 15,600 people, will be tourists who will travel to the Community of Madrid to attend the concert. In this sense, it has also pointed out that national and international tourism will spend an average of 280 euros per day in the city, with an average stay of two days.
THE CITY COUNCIL WORKS TO MINIMIZE MOBILITY IMPACT
On the other hand, the Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, also highlighted on Friday the economic and brand impact for the capital that the Swift concerts represent.
«For Madrid, it is very important in economic terms because it will mean an additional injection for these summer months, but also in terms of brand,» emphasized the mayor in statements to the media in Madrid Río.
Martínez-Almeida indicated that the hotel sector has reported «a very significant increase in reservations» during those days and regarding neighbor complaints, he stated that the City Council is working on the mobility plan «so that the impacts are as minimal as possible.»
In this regard, regarding the impact on students from nearby schools, the mayor stressed that they will have to have «the necessary conditions of normality» to «guarantee entry and exit» to educational centers.
In parallel, Almeida emphasized that they are working jointly with the Government Delegation on the device to guarantee security in the organization of the people who will arrive a few days earlier to secure a better spot. «We are working well with the Delegation, of course, to ensure the best security conditions,» he explained.
Additionally, as reported by the deputy mayor and spokesperson of the municipal government, Inma Sanz, on May 23, there will be two ‘fanzones’ and merchandising areas for the Spanish concerts of ‘The Eras Tour’.
A «MULTITUDINOUS» TOUR
The magnitude of Swift’s economic impact can be seen in numbers: Trainline calculates that attendees at her American tour concerts spent an average of 1,300 euros per show, including tickets, transportation, and hospitality.
The average capacity is over 72,000 seats and over four million tickets have been sold in the American leg of ‘The Eras Tour’.
