BTS Comeback Tour Sparks Surge in Concert Tourism, Hotel Searches Skyrocket 6,700%

BTS' Comeback Tour Sparks Surge in Travel Searches Across Asia

BTS, the globally renowned K-pop group, has once again captured the attention of fans worldwide with their latest comeback tour. This event has led to a significant increase in travel searches across various regions, particularly in Asia. The demand for flights and hotel rooms at the tour's locations has been overwhelming, with many bookings selling out rapidly.

The tour, which spans 34 cities across Asia, North and South America, Australia, Europe, and the UK, from April 2026 to March 2027, has seen an unprecedented level of interest. According to Hotels.com, within 48 hours of the tour announcement on January 13, travel searches for South Korean cities Seoul and Busan increased by 155% and 2,375%, respectively, compared to the week before the announcement.

This surge in interest is not limited to South Korea. In the host city Kaohsiung, Taiwan, searches surged 6,700% year on year during the Nov. 19 tour date, according to another travel agent platform, Booking.com.

Fastest Fingers Win

Despite covering more regions than ever before and tripling their ticket inventory, BTS' latest tour titled 'Arirang' sold out in just 20 minutes. Their previous "Permission to Dance" tour in 2021-2022 took 5-6 hours to sell out. Fans who were unable to complete their purchases due to internet connection issues or poor reflexes during ticket sales have had to resort to the secondhand market.

Resale 'Arirang' ticket prices responded to the voracious appetite of fans, with some tickets featured on the resale platform StubHub going for around $7,276, nearly 40 times the original price. Fans also struggled to find suitable accommodations, as high demand fueled price gouging. Hotel rooms near major transit hubs in South Korea were fully booked on BTS' tour dates, despite some charging more than double typical weekend rates, according to local reports.

Short-Term Tourism Boost

Though concert tourists typically travel only to see their idols on stage, their sporadic yet concentrated presence can generate sharp spikes in spending, said Prudence Lai, a consultant at Euromonitor International. That's because the scarcity of such one-off events, as opposed to the reliability of annual events, creates a "once in a lifetime opportunity" for fans, which drives up demand and makes the industry so lucrative.

For comparison, the annual music and arts festival Coachella in California generated roughly half as many web searches as BTS' ticket announcement managed to procure, Kruger noted. There was a concentrated surge in searches for three- and four-star accommodations close to BTS' concert venues across host cities, according to Hotels.com.

More than just proximity to concert venues, these tourists also consider other factors when choosing an accommodation. Travelers also consider cost, safety and service consistency when booking accommodations, Lai said. Some hotels are already adjusting to cater to the needs of concert tourists. In Spain, Palace Hotel Madrid has prepared concierge teams to support transportation planning and dining options before and after concerts by BTS and Puerto Rican performer Bad Bunny, whose world tour overlaps in June.

Concertgoers who add a couple of days to their trip, on the other hand, are more akin to "business travelers, adding on a leisure trip after the business trip," Lai said. She added that as opposed to luxury travelers who want the full-on personalized experience, concertgoers only "want a place to sleep and then go to the concert. So it's a very different type of tourism that we're looking at right now."