Dec 12, 2024
All good things must come to an end – even record breaking tours. Spanning 149 shows over 21 months, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour wrapped up in Vancouver, British Columbia on Dec. 8 and became the first ever to gross over $2 billion in ticket sales.
That’s “double the gross ticket sales of any other concert tour in history,” according to the New York Times. Taylor Swift Touring, the singer’s production company, reported that a total of 10,168,008 fans attended the Eras Tour, with an average ticket price of about $204.
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But the Eras Tour wasn’t just a cultural moment – it was an economic force. Hotels were packed, restaurants saw crowds and tourism took off in every city the tour touched. One Minneapolis brewery even raked in double its normal revenue after hosting Eras-themed events, including karaoke, dance parties and trivia.
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“This was bigger for us than when the Super Bowl came to town in 2018,” Emily Elmer, general manager of Inbound Brew Co. told The Washington Post.
As the friendship bracelets and glittery outfits fade into the background, the spotlight turns to where the money actually went.
While major entertainment companies and Swift’s own production team claimed the lion's share of revenue, one question remains: did small businesses truly get an economic boost?
The Eras effect
Throughout the tour, much has been said about Taylor Swift’s effect on local economies. Destination Toronto, for instance, estimated that her six sold-out shows in Toronto would bring $282 million into the local economy in 2024, with $152 million coming from spending on hotels, dining and other services.
Even for the shows held in 2023, The Washington Post reported that a survey by QuestionPro found concertgoers spent an average of $93 million per show total — not just on tickets, but on merchandise, travel, hotels, food and even carefully curated outfits.
As a result, $5.7 billion was generated in the U.S. alone because of that additional spending.
That spending extended to Susie Cakes in California where $50,000 worth of Swift-themed cupcakes were sold. And, according to the California Center for Jobs and the Economy, Swift’s shows had longer-term effects on the job market as a whole, including an estimated revenue increase capable of funding 3,300 new jobs in Los Angeles.
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The true cost of hosting
There’s no denying that major events like the Eras Tour bring significant benefits to local economies. With the amount of ticketholders that travelled to see a certain Swift show, you could even compare the tour to something more grand like the Olympics. However, the economic impact of big events like these are often overstated when weighed against the cost of hosting.
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For example, Beijing’s 2008 Summer Olympics brought in $3.6 billion in revenue but cost over $40 billion. Tokyo’s 2020 Summer Games also generated $5.8 billion in revenue, falling short of the $13 billion it cost to host the event.
The Eras Tour, on the other hand, stands out. Unlike the Olympics, it didn’t demand expensive new infrastructure or massive public investment. Cities didn’t have to build new stadiums or upgrade transportation systems.
While some cities went all out with fanfare — putting up signage and even temporarily renaming one street “Taylor Swift Way” in Toronto, Canada — these are small-scale efforts that didn’t burden taxpayers with long-term financial burdens.
This relatively low-cost setup allowed cities to enjoy the economic boost from tourism, hospitality and local spending without the lingering costs of hosting a global event. Taken together, the Eras Tour was an example of a cultural movement that helped some local economies globally while avoiding the financial burden that can often overshadow large events.
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Victoria Vesovski is a Toronto-based staff reporter at Moneywise covering personal finance, lifestyle and trending news. She holds degrees from the University of Toronto and New York University, and her work has appeared on platforms including Yahoo Finance, MSN Money and Apple News.
