How women’s success boosts economies

By Noelani Kirschner

The final shows of The Eras Tour aren’t until December, yet Royce Chwin is already preparing for Taylor Swift’s arrival in Vancouver.

The chief executive of Destination Vancouver, a nonprofit promoting tourism, is planning for big crowds and eyeing Swift’s economic impact in similarly sized cities such as Denver and Seattle.

In July 2023, a pair of concerts in Denver added an estimated $140 million to the U.S. state of Colorado’s gross state product.

The tour’s stop in Seattle brought the city a single-day record of $7.4 million in hotel and restaurant revenues.

“It’s such good news for fans and for our tourism and hospitality sector, particularly since early December is generally a slower month for major events,” Chwin told ShareAmerica of Swift’s plans to close her international tour with three shows in Vancouver.

The city was added after Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined other world leaders  in pitching their countries or cities for a stop on the tour, reflecting the economic boom that creative women — and their legions of fans — can bring.

As Swift tours a dozen European countries in 2024, cities anticipate major economic boosts.

Stockholm’s Chamber of Commerce predicted Swift’s three May concerts in Sweden’s capital would generate $46 million  for the city’s economy in hotels, meals, shopping and other revenues.

In June, economists estimated that Swift’s shows across the United Kingdom  could add $1 billion to that country’s economy.

Swift’s Eras Tour, Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour and Barbie, the 2023 film written and directed by Greta Gerwig, have grossed billions of dollars worldwide, while spurring revenue for venues, hotels, restaurants and other businesses.

The filming of Barbie in London created $100 million in revenue for the United Kingdom’s economy.

Swift’s six shows in Los Angeles in August 2023 created 3,300 jobs and spurred $160 million for the city revenue.

Beyoncé’s Stockholm concert in May 2023 so boosted consumer demand that an economist has suggested the show contributed to Sweden’s spike in inflation later that year.

In the United States, where women drive between 70% and 80% of consumer purchasing decisions, the Renaissance World Tour has added $4.5 billion to the economy, according to Forbes.

The Eras Tour is projected to gross $5.7 billion.

The economic impact is perhaps most noticeable in smaller cities. In Santa Clara, a California city of 127,000, hotels sold out for weeks around a Swift concert.

“The moment the concert was announced … the phones rang off the hook at our hotels,” Christine Lawson of Discover Santa Clara told ABC News .

Swift’s two shows in Cincinnati in June and July 2023 were an opportunity for some businesses and nonprofits to join the festivities and drum up support.

Pig Works, a nonprofit that organizes running races, set up booths outside the stadium offering free hair braiding, glitter makeup and friendship bracelets, all popular among Swift concertgoers.

Iris Simpson Bush, former chief executive of Pig Works, which takes its name from the outsized role of hogs in Cincinnati’s economic history, told ShareAmerica that not long after the preconcert festivities, the nonprofit saw a bump in registrations for races.

“We had one of our largest fields of participants last October,” Bush said, adding that “it was probably the good karma” of supporting the festivities before the concerts in June and July 2023.