Musical events as a boost for international tourism

As Taylor Swift continues to captivate the world with her sold-out performances and undeniable talent, a comprehensive analysis by The Data Appeal Company, the Almawave Group’s tourism intelligence firm, reveals that other major music events are making significant contributions to local economies and the international tourism landscape in 2024. This analysis of three prominent events highlights the impact of the music industry, showing how hosting these events attracts visitors, boosts local businesses and the hospitality industry, and creates a positive feedback loop through social media promotion.

The Data Appeal Company collects and analyses data from various online travel agencies (OTAs), including players such as Booking.com and Expedia, to give a comprehensive overview of travel destinations. This data, along with spending figures, is sourced from The Data Appeal Company’s core platform, D/AI Destinations. This study is based on the analysis of the impact of these events (concerts on different dates and music festivals) on local economies and tourism during the specified dates:

Coldplay in Rome on 12, 13, 15 and 16 July 2024;
Adele in Munich on 2, 3, 9, 10, 14, 16, 23, 24, 30 and 31 August 2024;
Rock in Rio (a music festival) in Rio de Janeiro from 13 to 15 and 19 to 22 September 2024.
Economic impact highlights

The analysis reveals the economic impact of these music events, highlighting how these performances stimulate local economies through increased spending on accommodation and other services. These events not only attract large audiences, but also trigger substantial changes in occupancy rates and prices for hospitality and short-term rentals. The following sections detail the economic effects observed at key events featuring prominent artists such as Adele, Coldplay and the Rock in Rio festival, showing their influence on the cities they visit.

Adele in Munich: Adele’s exclusive European performances, held at a specially constructed open-air venue at Messe München that can hold up to 80,000 people, are drawing crowds and driving up hotel prices. The events have already caused a significant increase in hotel rates of up to 110%, despite the concert not being sold out yet. These concerts are expected to have a substantial impact on the local economy, especially considering Adele’s potential hiatus from touring after these dates.

Coldplay in Rome: Coldplay's Rome concerts have attracted approximately 70,000 attendees and generated an estimated expenditure of over 17 million Euros. This audience size and expenditure highlights the broad appeal and economic benefits of Coldplay's performances.

Rock in Rio: This festival continues to gain global prominence, and is expected to attract over 700,000 attendees this year, with many visitors opting for direct bookings. The event has already influenced a 93% increase in accommodation rates.

Breakdown of spending by event

The data shows that Coldplay fans allocate a significant portion of their spending to accommodation, spending 54% on accommodation. In comparison, Rock in Rio and Adele concert-goers spend a smaller percentage of their total spending on accommodation, with both groups allocating just 22% of their spending in this category.

In terms of food and drink, Rock in Rio leads with attendees spending 62% on this category, followed by Adele fans, who spend 53%. This indicates that food and drink experiences are a significant part of the appeal of these events. Meanwhile, Coldplay fans spend 42% on food and drink, indicating a relatively even distribution of spending between accommodation and food.

Transport expenditure also varies between these groups. Adele concerts see the highest expenditure on transport at 25%, suggesting a greater need for travel among her fans, possibly due to the location or venue-specific nature of the event. Rock in Rio attendees spend 16% on transport, while Coldplay fans spend much less at 4%, likely due to the proximity of accommodation to the event venue. These figures highlight the varying priorities and spending patterns of audiences attending different events.

Mirko Lalli, CEO of The Data Appeal Company, comments: “Events of this magnitude not only attract thousands of visitors, but also bring significant economic benefits to the host destinations. This says a lot about how much tourist destinations should invest in an optimal calendar of dates for international artists, now able to attract fans from abroad as well. To do so, however, they need to capture data related to who attended, what they did and where they spent their money, in order to continually adjust and improve the benefits to the local economy when planning future events. However, we must not forget that events of this magnitude can put strong stress on residents and the environment, so it is crucial to manage them strategically and carefully. Sustainability must be at the heart of every event planning and management initiative to ensure that events can remain a valuable resource for tourism without compromising the well-being of the host destinations.”

This analysis underlines the importance of the music sector in shaping the tourism and economic landscape of major international cities. The impact of these events goes beyond entertainment, influencing local businesses and hospitality industries, and highlighting the need for careful planning and sustainable practices in the organisation of large-scale events.

The average age of visitors

In a similar study, Mabrian, part of The Data Appeal Company, recently conducted an analysis on how the average age of visitors to Madrid and Seville varied during the Taylor Swift and AC/DC concerts held in the same week (Swift in Madrid, AC/DC in Seville), compared to the same days last year. This analysis used the distribution of tourist reviews on social media during these events. The results showed that in Madrid, 26% of tourist conversations during the concert dates were from people under 34, indicating a four percentage point increase in visitors under 35 compared to the same period in 2023. In Seville, there was a significant increase in visitors over 55, with a nine percentage point increase compared to the previous year, as 17% of tourist conversations were from this age group.

Carlos Cendra, Partner and Director of Marketing and Communication at Mabrian, emphasizes the value of these findings, pointing out the need for destinations to understand and leverage the particularities of music tourism to optimize its appeal and economic benefits: “These insights highlight the importance of accurately measuring the impact of music tourism, given its complex nature. By examining how different music styles and events influence traveler behavior and demographics, destinations can better understand spending patterns and overall impact. This information is crucial to developing strategies to attract music acts that align with specific tourism objectives. Furthermore, tracking the reach of music tourism is essential to making informed decisions about campaign strategies, channels, and formats to position a location as a music destination, thereby attracting high-value travelers and promoting a more balanced distribution of tourism spending.”

Source: The Data Appeal Company - Almawave Group.