Taylor Swift’s finances aren’t real? Experts weigh in on ‘Swiftonomics’ amid European Hellas tour

Taylor Swift seems to be slowly making her way across the European continent, boosting the economies of one country after another. The magic of her record-breaking sold-out “Hellas Tour” has so far swept across five European countries, pushing hotel prices to an all-time high, but France has not made it onto the magical radar.

After a two-month hiatus, the global sensation resumed her world tour in May. Of the four countries she visited in May, three — Portugal, Spain and Sweden — saw hotel rates rise compared to the past three years, according to a report released Monday by BMI, an analytics subsidiary of Fitch Solutions.

However, a different picture emerged in the case of France, for the following reasons:

Why didn’t Swiftnomics work its magic in France?

France’s negative reaction to the so-called “Taylor Swift effect” was attributed to the country’s higher hotel capacity and larger population than other visited countries.

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BMI researchers noted that 290,000 people attended the shows across six French cities, including Paris and Lyon, representing just 0.43% of the country’s population.

The researchers concluded that the country “hosts large-scale events and has a highly developed tourism industry and airport, suggesting a high capacity to accommodate large numbers of domestic and international visitors.”

The report does not include figures for Swift’s recent London show in June, but a previous report, based on data from the Greater London Authority, estimated that her London shows could have a massive boost to the city’s economy, worth $381 million (around £300 million).

And now BMI research suggests that Taylor’s upcoming concerts could lead to higher ticket prices in Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland – countries with populations under 20 million.

What’s more, her tour of Italy doesn’t start until mid-July, but hotels in Milan are fully booked, according to Ben Julius, founder of travel company Tourist Italia.

“Our analysis and data show that hotel rates for the night of a Taylor Swift concert in Milan in July 2024 will be 45% higher on average compared to the weeks before and after the concert,” Julius told Business Insider.

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Economists talk about the Taylor Swift effect

Despite recent reports that “Swiftnomics” is having a significant impact on countries, a Reuters report on June 27th did not quite match that situation.

The publication suggested that “Taylor Swift’s economic power” wasn’t real and suggested a “magnifying glass” was needed to calculate how much she contributes to the continent’s economy.

Reuters reported, citing figures from a concert in Stockholm in May, that 180,000 fans came to see their beloved artists in concert, most of them flying in from abroad, bringing in around 850 million kroner ($81 million) for the city of Stockholm.

The figures are expected to be a “big weekend boost for Stockholm, and especially for tourism,” but are just a pittance given Sweden’s modest economy, ranked eighth in the EU.

“This is just a weekend and will not have a visible or significant impact on overall economic growth,” said Carl Bergqvist, chief economist at the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.

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Carsten Brzeski, an economist at ING, also responded to a question about whether a “Taylor Swift effect” is at work by saying it is “at best very small and temporary,” and stressed that while extensive research may have outlined the economic benefits of these shows, “you need a magnifying glass to see these so-called benefits in the numbers.”

The same was repeated for the Summer Olympics in France (Paris) in July and UEFA Euro 2024 currently taking place in Germany: these big events have a positive impact on restaurant and beer sales and merchandise sales, but do not have a decisive effect on consumption patterns.

“At a micro level, these events certainly have a boost to the economy, but it is small and temporary,” said Pete Heins Christiansen of Danske Bank.

But they agreed that there have been surprising benefits in certain areas, such as big increases in hotel and catering businesses in venues hosting Taylor Swift concerts, and increased beer sales in soccer-loving countries.