High hotel demand

Vienna’s tourism industry is already celebrating the “Swift effect”

Pop superstar Taylor Swift, whose concerts ensure that entire industries rejoice in higher sales.(Bild: APA/AFP/DAVID GRAY)

Taylor Swift is reportedly breaking all records with her "The Eras" world tour. And the superstar is not only making her fans, the "Swifties", cheer, but also entire economies. Vienna is also enjoying high demand for hotel bookings.

2023 was the second most successful year for Vienna's tourism industry in its history. But this year could be even better. One of the reasons for this is Swift, who is playing sold-out concerts at the Ernst Happel Stadium on three consecutive evenings from 8 to 10 August.

The venue can hold more than 50,000 fans, many of whom are traveling from abroad. Due to the comparatively low ticket prices in Europe, even from the USA.

Pop superstar Taylor Swift, whose concerts ensure that entire sectors of the economy rejoice at higher sales.(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Higher prices per night
According to an analysis by the comparison portal Check24, there is a 246 percent increase in hotel bookings during the concert week compared to the week before. In addition, rooms are on average 22 euros more expensive - that is almost a third more for the cheaper hotels at around 70 euros per night. Vienna Tourism has also calculated a peak in demand for Swift's concerts, as well as for Coldplay.

Some hotels already fully booked
A look at a well-known booking portal also shows that especially cheap hotels close to the stadium are fully booked for the Swift concert days. This is also confirmed by Anke Cimbal, spokesperson for Best Western Hotels: "We are often fully booked weeks in advance for such major events."