When Ticketmaster opened ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in November of 2022, the platform soon crashed thanks to the fervor of eager fans. The tour went on to live up to the hype; according to Forbes, the Eras Tour grossed 300 million in just its first 22 shows. It is now on track to set a new record for the world’s most profitable concert tour. 

The existing record was set by Sir Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in 2023. The tour consisted of 330 shows spanning a 6-year period and grossed 939 million dollars. Swift’s Eras tour, currently scheduled for 131 total shows, is on track to gross over 1.7 billion dollars, nearly doubling the previous mark. 

This is not the only record the Eras tour has set. The three days during Swift’s Chicago shows saw more hotel rooms in the city booked than ever before, according to the Chicago Tourism & Conventions Bureau. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia corroborated these claims of the tour’s significant impact on regional economies. 

Swift’s financial impact on local economies has led many world leaders to invite her to visit their respective countries. When the Eras tour’s international dates were announced, Canada was surprisingly omitted from the list. Matt Jeneroux, a Canadian MP, claimed to Parliament that the tour generated “$4.6 billion for local economies” in the US and hoped to bring the tour to Canada.  

Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, later posted a viral Tweet inviting Swift to his country. “Don’t make it another cruel summer. We hope to see you soon,” the Tweet read. These sentiments were also expressed by the President of Chile and politicians from Hungary and Thailand. 

Swift is one of many who have taken advantage of the post-pandemic demand for live music, with artists like Adele and Beyoncé, and many others, scheduling their own concert tours for 2023. These tours are expected to help reverse the global economic downturn and return tourism to its pre-pandemic levels.