Taylor Swift’s U.S. fans who were in shock while searching for “Eras Tour” tickets could pay a lot less to see her in Europe, even if you take air travel. and hotel costs included.
According to one Itinerary calculated by CNNTraveling from New York to Sweden to see Swift would cost about $1,300. This includes $300 for a concert ticket, $700 for a round-trip flight and $300 for a night in a four-star hotel.
Of course, it’s unlikely that an American tourist would stay in Sweden for just one night and then fly back to the US the next day. And the cost of food, drinks and souvenirs would also drive up the bill.
By comparison, ticket prices for Swift’s upcoming shows in Miami, New Orleans and Indianapolis range from $2,000 to $8,500, according to prices on StubHub cited by CNN.
Many Swifties in the USA have already done the math. In fact, Swift’s concerts this month were in Paris, where the European leg of the Eras Tour began, attracted five times as many Americans as bookings for the Paris Olympia this summer.
The perverse economics of traveling abroad to get a better deal on a concert is partly due to this strong US dollarwhich has helped fuel a wave of American tourism abroad.
That’s because the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes and longer-term higher stance have boosted the greenback against major global currencies, which have slumped as other central banks are expected to begin cutting rates soon. The result is that the dollar travels a longer distance abroad, making foreign vacations more affordable for Americans.
Additionally, several European countries and the European Union have restrictions on ticket reseller markups, CNN noted. In Portugal, Spain and Germany, prices for Swift’s Eras Tour are around $300 to $400.
Meanwhile, the high prices of Swift tickets have caused such outrage in the US that a “Taylor Swift billA law has been signed in Minnesota to protect online ticket buyers from hidden fees and shady resellers. The Justice Department is also reportedly preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation EntertainmentTicketmaster’s parent company as the industry’s general practices are subject to greater scrutiny.
At the same time, Swift’s surprise double album release last month added to the hype surrounding their tour, which has already happened brought Swift to a net worth of $1.1 billionput them on the Forbes List of billionaires for the first time