The Swift Effect – Every City’s Wildest Dream

While ticket resale websites have been a gatekeeper for many Taylor Swift fans, many cities across the US have reaped the benefits of her record-breaking performances this past year. There have been many opportunities for local businesses to take advantage of the surplus of tourism with the 20-city Eras Tour. Whether or not you enjoy her music one thing is for certain: when Swifties come to town, Swifties go on spending sprees.

To get fans in their store, small businesses have incorporated ideas like selling Taylor Swift themed foods and cocktails, a museum in Nashville even rushed out an exhibit of their collection of Taylor Swift costumes on the weekend she was in Nashville. In a few unique marketing cases, Glendale, AZ renaming themselves to “Swift City” and Santa Clara, CA naming Taylor Swift as honorary mayor. Many cities started to see pre-pandemic numbers of revenue with the concerts. Los Angeles reported an estimated $320 million increase to the GDP of the city, according to the California Center for Jobs and the Economy. Chicago reported that the Eras Tour brought “all-time hotel records” with over 44,000 hotel rooms occupied each night and estimated $39 million in total hotel revenue.

Our own Houston, TX reacted the same way to the Taylor Swift hype. NRG Stadium had a name change for the weekend of the Eras’ Tour to “NRG Stadium (Taylor’s Version)”. Swift’s three-night stint at NRG Stadium brought tens of thousands of Swifties from across the state and beyond to the Bayou City, resulting in Houston’s highest hotel revenue week of 2023. With Swift selling out the 72,220-seat venue three nights in a row for her Eras Tour — her first national tour since 2018 — there was hardly a blank space in Houston for anyone looking for a place to stay.

Without a doubt, Taylor Swift has played a pivotal role in stimulating the economy this year. Her performances have drawn in tremendous tourism for state economies and even drew in an international interest before the tour announced dates for other countries. It’s worth noting that Beyoncé has had a similar impact on local economies with her Renaissance tour. These music powerhouses are proving that their music extends past a good performance.