Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour expected to generate $282M for Toronto

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Taylor Swift won’t be the only one making millions when her Eras Tour stops in at Toronto’s Rogers Centre for six sold-out shows next month.

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According to Destination Toronto, a non-profit that supports the city’s tourism industry, the pop star’s shows could have a $282-million impact on the local economy, with $152 million of that money coming in the form of direct spending. An estimated 93% of that amount — $141 million — will come from out-of-towners visiting local restaurants, hotels and shops, with the remaining $11 million coming from Torontonians.

The organization said the direct and indirect tax impacts of Swift’s shows on Nov. 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, and 23 are expected to generate nearly $40 million in tax revenue. 

“These economic impact numbers show that Taylor Swift and the Eras Tour will have an enormously positive and significant economic impact on Toronto and our local economy,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said in a statement. “Toronto is excited to welcome another major event this November that will contribute millions of dollars in direct spending and support local businesses and jobs.”

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“The Eras Tour is a great example of the impact major events have on our destination,” Andrew Weir, CEO and president at Destination Toronto, added.

The organization notes that Swift’s concerts come at a time when business travel has started to slow down for the year and holiday leisure travel has not quite picked up.

Approximately 240,000 concertgoers are expected to attend the Eras Tour at Rogers Centre and more than 60,000 are expected to visit Toronto’s Version: Taylgate ‘24, the pre-concert event happening next door at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

In addition to Taylgate, several Swift-themed events and activities are planned across the city, including Taylor Swift Fan Night at the Bata Shoe Museum, a Taylor Swift Brunch at Patois, fundraiser TDOT SWIFT 4 CATS at the El Mocambo, ERAS! ERAS! ERAS! Presented by Choir! Choir! Choir! at Longboat Hall and more.

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As of Sept. 29, the tourism group said hotel bookings for the Eras Tour dates in November are up by nearly 83% in the downtown area, year-over-year. Room bookings have also spiked by 36% outside of the core.

“When major events come to the city they bring new spending that impacts not only the hospitality sector but, as this analysis shows, a much broader set of businesses and jobs throughout the city,” Weir tells Postmedia. “That’s the power of visitor spending — by driving new spending into our economy, the impact of a visitor continues long after they have gone home through the jobs supported, taxes generated and communities reached.”

Swift’s Eras Tour, which kicked off in March 2023, has made headlines for not only being one of the hardest tickets to get, but for the amount of money it pumps into the local economies of the cities she plays.

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In December, Pollstar announced that Swift’s trek brought in a whopping $1.04 billion with 4.35 million tickets sold across 60 tour dates, putting her ahead of Elton John’s multi-year farewell tour.

Billboard estimated that same month that Swift’s total haul was nearly $2 billion last year when her music sales and accompanying tour film and merchandise were factored in.

Last year, the Eras Tour was projected to generate close to $5 billion in consumer spending in the United States alone. “If Taylor Swift were an economy, she’d be bigger than 50 countries,” said Dan Fleetwood, president of QuestionPro Research and Insights, in a story for GlobalNewsWire. 

In her opening night gig 19 months ago in Glendale, Ariz., Swift injected more revenue into local businesses than Super Bowl LVII, which was held the month before in the same stadium.

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After she played eight shows at London’s Wembley Stadium this past summer, Barclays predicted that Swift’s tour would lead to a bump of nearly 1 billion pounds (C$1.8 billion) in the British economy.

But Swift’s economic impact also extended into other areas during her tour. The 14-time Grammy winner has made multiple food bank donations, handed out bonuses to people working on her tour, and this month wrote a cheque for $5 million to help victims of Helene and Milton after the two hurricanes tore through Florida and neighbouring states.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford also hailed the coming shows in Toronto, telling reporters Tuesday that he “can’t wait until she comes here.”

“She’s a brilliant business person and a musician. Boy, excuse the pun, but what a rock star; she is coming here and creating more jobs.”

After Swift’s Toronto concerts, she will wrap her Eras Tour in Vancouver in December.

mdaniell@postmedia.com

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