Music tourism expected to drive European traveler demand in 2024

January 16, 2024

Last updated: April 29, 2024

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German music fans most willing to travel internationally to see a concert or festival

Travelers from Spain are most keen to explore the destination when taking a trip to a live music event

Music, like travel, broadens the mind, opening new horizons and offering new perspectives. AmadeusTravel Trends 2024 finds many are also looking to combine the two this year, with a boom in concert and festival attendance in 2023 tapping into a desire for connection. As we enter 2024, the trend is expected to accelerate, with many European travelers planning to follow their favorite acts on tour.

A new research project, carried out by YouGov for Amadeus across four European markets, finds some 49 per cent of Spaniards have previously traveled to attend a concert or festival (spending at least one night away from home), along with 48 per cent of Brits, 44 per cent of Germans and 34 per cent of French travelers. Interestingly, German music fans were, however, the most adventurous when it comes to international travel, with 18 per cent headed abroad for a show, compared to 11 per cent of Spanish travelers, nine per cent of those from Britain and just seven per cent of French travelers.

When it comes to how much a traveler would spend, British travelers were the most frugal. Some 58 per cent of British music fans who had previously embarked on a trip to see a concert or festival would look to spend less than £300 in the future (not including the cost of the event ticket), compared to just 40 per cent of both French and Spanish travelers, and 39 per cent of Germans. In contrast, 15 per cent of German and 13 per cent of Spanish and French music fans who had previously traveled for a live music event would be willing to spend over €600 to do so again, compared to only nine per cent of Brits.

Daniel Batchelor, Vice President, Global Corporate Marketing & Communications at Amadeus, said: “A prerequisite to building a better travel experience is understanding the minds of travelers. That is why we promote “Traveler First” thinking throughout the industry. Consumer research shows that this year travelers are on the lookout for new experiences. And what better experience can there be than sharing a music festival or concert with friends, family or like-minded fans? With artists including Taylor Swift and Coldplay performing in 2024, we are seeing strong demand across Europe for travel, both domestic and international with music fans planning to enjoy a range of performances across the continent.”

When it comes to making the most of a trip, Spaniards were the keenest to explore the destination when travelling to see a live artist, with 79 per cent planning to do so. This compared to 67 per cent of French travelers, 64 per cent of British travelers and 58 per cent of Germans. Similarly, 43 per cent of all Spanish travelers questioned said they would travel to a musical event with friends, compared to 38 per cent of French travelers, 37 per cent of Brits and 32 per cent of Germans.

Additionally, Amadeus’ own flight search data provides further evidence of intent to travel around key music events. For Taylor Swift’s Eras tour in 2024, the data shows:

International searches for trips to Paris, France, for seven or more days coinciding with the dates of the concerts increased by 21% ¹ .
Countries with a noticeable increase in flight searches to Paris coinciding with the Taylor Swift concert dates were Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, and the USA.
Trips of seven or more days proved most popular with international visitors to Madrid. Flight search volumes for a trip of this duration increased by an average of 23% ². While domestic travelers in Spain favored shorter trips, which rose by 18% over the same period.
Between the announcement of UK tour dates and the opening of ticket sales, domestic flight searches for various durations covering the concert dates increased by 80% ³.

(Note: All figures are based on average week on week flight search comparisons in 2023.)

Methodology

YouGov survey results were based on a proprietary panel, composed of 6,299 travelers from four markets - France, United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain – in November 2023.

Origin of flight search data: These data points are based on research by Amadeus data science teams. Data is drawn from a custom search dataset, Amadeus Master Pricer, and Amadeus Agency Insights. Amadeus Air Search Travel Data is the most complete suite of air data in the travel industry and includes shopping transactions performed by +2,500 customers including the world’s top travel agencies. It consists of consolidated data generated by daily transactions.

¹ Weeks 27-28, 2023

² Between weeks 23-28, 2023

³ Between weeks 26-28, 2023

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Music tourism expected to drive European traveler demand in 2024

1 Weeks 27-28, 2023

2 Between weeks 23-28, 2023

3 Between weeks 26-28, 2023

¹ Weeks 27-28, 2023

² Between weeks 23-28, 2023

³ Between weeks 26-28, 2023