Concert tourism is expected be one of the travel industry’s more lucrative drivers this year, according to Trip.com, and the upcoming global comeback tour by K-pop group BTS appears to be reinforcing that trend.
Flights and hotel rooms at their tour locations — in 34 cities across Asia, North and South America, Australia, Europe and the UK, from April 2026 to March 2027 — have sold out just as fast as their concert seats, and spillover tourists are expected to lend an additional income boost to host cities.
Within 48 hours of the tour announcement on Jan. 13, travel searches for South Korean cities Seoul and Busan increased by 155% and 2,375%, respectively, compared with the week before the announcement, according to the travel booking platform Hotels.com.
The momentum’s also extended beyond 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.
Other major tours expected to draw international travel this year include those by Bruno Mars, Harry Styles and K-pop group EXO.
A woman poses for a photo in front of the stairs displayed with the logo of BTS’ 2026 album and release date at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on January 14, 2026. K-pop megastars BTS will launch a comeback world tour from April, the band’s label said on January 14. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP via Getty Images)
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images
Despite covering more regions than they’ve ever had and tripling their ticket inventory, BTS’ latest tour titled ‘Arirang,’ sold out in 20 minutes. Their last “Permission to Dance” tour in 2021-2022 sold out in 5-6 hours.
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, according to checks by CNBC.
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.
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, Event Tickets Center’s Chief Marketing Officer, Ben Kruger said.
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.”