Does she rely solely on her own efforts to drive the US economy? The Swift economic effect is spreading! Federal Reserve likes hotels | Philadelphia | Effect

Introduction: Some media have commented that the "Swift economic effect" is spreading from the United States to the world.

American pop diva Taylor Swift once again opened her voice after five years, as her era tour swept across the country. This top performer not only ignited the performance market, but also contributed to driving the declining US economy with her own efforts, even attracting likes from the Federal Reserve.

"In May this year, hotel revenue in Philadelphia reached a new high since the outbreak, largely due to Swift's concert in the city, which led to a large number of tourists visiting," the Federal Reserve wrote in a recent report on the national economic situation.

One ticket is hard to obtain, several times the premium

This is Swift's first global tour since 2018 and his debut since the pandemic, which can be said to be highly anticipated. On the first day of pre-sales on November 15th last year, over 2 million tickets for 52 concerts in North America were sold out by enthusiastic fans. According to ticketing company Ticketmaster, the above box office results broke the artist's single day sales record, and the popularity even caused the Ticketmaster system to crash several times, leading to the platform being criticized and trending.

In mid March of this year, the Time Tour concert officially launched. In just four months, "Mouldy" - the nickname of fans for Swift - has traveled to ten states including Arizona, Florida, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and more. Tianhou holds two to three performances every weekend, with all the venues fully booked and all the seats filled.

"Every song was a chorus, and many people cried that night." Recalling the experience of coming to Swift's concert on May 26, Carrie Wang, who worked and lived in New York, was still excited. When she was interviewed by the First Finance and Economics reporter, she said, "Among the audience, there were parents who took children out with their families, lovers or sisters, and a large group of friends who came in groups."

Wang Jiali was fortunate enough to qualify for a one in two million ticket in November last year and successfully completed the payment in May this year, purchasing the original price ticket for the New Jersey session for $360. "Tickets are very, very difficult to grab. The second-hand price is several times higher than the premium, and the second-hand ticket price for seats near us has risen to over $1000. The ticket price for an infield with a better view is even more exaggerated. I heard that someone spent a huge amount of $2300 to win an infield ticket." Wang Jiali sighed.

As the tour king, Swift has won the highest grossing female singer award in North America multiple times and is expected to break her personal record this time. According to the performance industry media Pollstar's forecast, as of the end of June, Time Tour's box office revenue has exceeded $300 million, with an average ticket price of approximately $254. The agency predicts that this tour alone in the United States can earn $730 million, and after including international appearances, it is expected to reach $1.4 billion, becoming the world's first tour to break through $1 billion in box office revenue and will also be the top grossing tour in the world.

Federal Reserve likes music queen

From May 12th to 14th, Swift performed three consecutive shows in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the queen sang to attract a large number of tourists. Due to the excessive popularity of the performance, the host city's economic performance was even more impressive, and the Swift economic effect even caught the attention of the Federal Reserve.

"Although the overall recovery of the regional tourism industry is slowing down, Philadelphia hotel revenue reached a new high since the pandemic in May this year, largely due to Swift's concert in the city, which drove a large number of tourists to visit," the Federal Reserve wrote in a brown book released on July 12th.

The Brown Book is published eight times a year, aiming to summarize the economic performance of different regions in the United States and is an important reference for monetary policy decisions.

Wang Jiali confirmed to First Financial reporters that the fans on site came from all over the world. "The performance I watched included audiences from other states and those who flew specifically from Canada."

The Philadelphia hotel industry is not the only winner. According to data from the business travel service website Booking.com, hotel prices have more than doubled in places where the queen travels, including Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, Minneapolis in Minnesota, and Kansas City in Missouri. During the tour, some hotels in Pittsburgh had occupancy rates close to 100%, and the booking platform crashed due to a surge in online traffic.

"Swift's performances are very popular and can stimulate the tourism industry in the host country. People usually fly from various states in the United States and even around the world to watch the performances, which will inevitably increase the occupancy rate, restaurant bookings, and overall consumption of the host country and its surrounding hotels," said Sonora, the head of US economics at Fitch Ratings, in an interview with First Financial reporters

And air tickets and hotels are only a part of the consumption items. When encountering rare events, many people will disregard the cost. Wang Jiali told First Financial that the Swift Economic Effect

From July 14th to 15th, Swift's tour arrived in Denver, Colorado.

According to data from the Common Sense Institute, a business think tank, it is estimated that approximately 75000 fans will attend each performance, which could generate over $200 million in direct consumer spending and create a gross domestic product of $140 million for Colorado.

The next stop in the day will be Seattle, Washington and several cities in California. The think tank predicts that the Time Tour will generate a total of $4.6 billion in consumer spending in the United States, equivalent to the GDP of 35 countries.

Sonora told First Financial reporters that despite Swift's astonishing influence, it is difficult to quantify its impact on the economies of each state. If estimated at $4.6 billion in consumer spending, it only accounts for 0.026% of the total consumer spending in the United States and 0.018% of the total GDP.

It is worth noting that consumer confidence in the United States is also a major factor. The savings accumulated by American households during the pandemic can still support household spending, and with inflation cooling down, recent wage increases have also helped maintain household income and expenditure balance, boosting consumer confidence. On the 14th, the University of Michigan in the United States announced that the initial consumer confidence index for July was 72.6, a new high since September 2021, far exceeding the expected value of 65.5, an increase of 12.7% from the previous value of 64.4, and the monthly increase is the largest since 2006.

Sonora further stated that resident spending is gradually shifting towards experiential projects, with strong growth in the service sector, leisure and hotel industries, and the healthcare industry performing well in the previous quarter. He stated that the current consumer spending and employment situation in the United States are better than expected, but evidence of slowing demand is also accumulating. "As the unemployment rate rises, the effect of excess savings diminishes, and the lagging effect of interest rate hikes becomes more apparent, we expect consumer spending to weaken from the fourth quarter of this year," said Sonora.

In fact, this is not the first time that "mold" has received recognition from government agencies. Earlier this month, officials in Cincinnati, Ohio praised Swift, stating that the Time Tour helped hotels in the city center increase revenue by over $2.6 million and brought in over $5.3 million in revenue for hotels around Hamilton County.

Last month, the official travel and marketing organization "Choose Chicago" in Chicago, Illinois, also posted on social media that Swift performed in the city on the first weekend of June, breaking records for hotel occupancy rates. After a three-day tour, all 44000 hotel rooms in the city were fully booked, generating $39 million in revenue for the hotel industry.

New Jersey pays tribute to "mold" in a unique way. Before the start of the May tour, Governor Murphy announced that the official sandwich in the state would be named "Taylor Swift Ham Egg Cheese Sandwich".

After finishing the trip to the United States, the international part of Time Tour will kick off at the end of August. According to the official schedule, Swift will travel to South America, Asia, Oceania, as well as European countries such as France, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Italy in the next year. The entire tour will end in London, UK in August next year.

Due to the explosive recovery of the tourism industry in all places where the tour went, officials from multiple countries took the initiative to send invitations to Swift. Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and Thai Prime Minister candidate Pita Linchalenra both threw their embroidered balls at "mold" on social media.

Some media also commented that the "Swift economic effect" is spreading from the United States to the world.