Music Tourism Expected to Drive European Traveler Demand in 2024

Many people are looking to combine music and travel this year, according to research on travel trends for 2024 released by Amadeus, a leading travel technology and distribution solutions provider.

“Music, like travel, broadens the mind, opening new horizons and offering new perspectives,” Amadeus says, adding that a boom in concert and festival attendance in 2023 is expected.

“As we enter 2024, the trend is expected to accelerate, with many European travelers planning to follow their favorite acts on tour.”

According to research carried out by YouGov for Amadeus across four European markets, some 49 percent of Spaniards have previously traveled to attend a concert or festival (spending at least one night away from home), along with 48 percent of Brits, 44 percent of Germans and 34 percent of French travelers.

German music fans were, however, were found to be “the most adventurous” when it comes to international travel, with 18 percent headed abroad for a show, compared to 11 percent of Spanish travelers, nine percent of those from Britain and just seven percent of French travelers.

“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,” Daniel Batchelor, Vice President, Global Corporate Marketing & Communications at Amadeus, said.

Scene from TAYLOR SWIFT | THE ERAS TOUR Concert Film.

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 percent.
– 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 percent. While domestic travelers in Spain favored shorter trips, which rose by 18 percent 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 percent.

Spaniards make the most of a trip, Brits don’t want to spend alot of money

With regard to other key findings, the research found that 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 percent planning to do so. This compared to 67 percent of French travelers, 64 percent of British travelers and 58 percent of Germans.

Similarly, 43 percent of all Spanish travelers questioned said they would travel to a musical event with friends, compared to 38 percent of French travelers, 37 percent of Brits and 32 percent of Germans.

Moreover, according to the research, when it comes to how much a traveler would spend, British travelers were the most frugal. Some 58 percent 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 percent of both French and Spanish travelers, and 39 percent of Germans.

In contrast, 15 percent of German and 13 percent of Spanish and French music fans who had previously traveled for a live music event would be willing to spend over 600 euros to do so again, compared to only nine percent of Brits.

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.