Pop superstar Taylor Swift is set to collect billions of dollars from her Elas Tour by the time it concludes its 152-show run in December.
But Swift and her team aren’t the only ones benefiting.
The Eras Tour boosts the local economy wherever it goes, and New Orleans hospitality leaders are excited to announce that three shows at Caesars Superdome from October 25th to 27th will be held at the city’s restaurants, hotels, It is hoped that other tourism-dependent businesses will benefit. .
With concert weekend about a month away, restaurants are preparing Swifty-themed menus, retailers are stocking up on costumes for fans, and other businesses and event spaces are looking for ways to generate excitement and revenue. are. While local fans are sure to be in attendance, it’s a sign of the influx of tourists looking for one last chance to see Swift before the tour ends.
A bracelet is wrapped around Katlyn Klein’s wrist during preparations for the Taylor Swift convention at the Holiday Inn on Loyola Street in New Orleans on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, with the words “ERAS NOLA” inside it. There was also a bracelet with this written on it.
Matthew Parshall
Hotel rates have soared, and Southwest Airlines has added nonstop flights from Austin, Baltimore, Dallas and San Antonio on weekends.
“We haven’t counted the number of chickens until they hatch, but we expect it to have a big impact,” said Evan Holmes, general manager of Caesars Superdome, which draws about 55,000 people each night for concerts. . “Unless she adds more dates, people only have five more opportunities to see this tour, so everyone who couldn’t make it to the other shows tried to buy tickets. It was one.”
“Hotels will be sold out.”
Hotels are expected to be the biggest winners of the Swift weekend. A spokesperson for New Orleans & Company, the city’s destination sales and marketing organization, said “hotels will be sold out” in New Orleans and surrounding parishes, but record room revenue for the weekend It is too early to judge whether it will be established or not.
“Demand is exactly what we expected, and we’re seeing that demand throughout the city,” said Jim Cook, general manager of the 1,100-room Sheraton New Orleans Hotel. “She brings an energetic fan base who comes to have a great time.”
Taylor Swift performs at Paris Le Defense Arena on Thursday, May 9, 2024, as part of the Hellas Tour Concert in Paris. (AP Photo/Louis Joly)
Louis Joly
After searching online and calling the reservation line, I learned that there were no rooms available at the Sheraton on a Saturday night during concert weekend. On a Friday night, some rooms are available for more than $1,000 after taxes and fees. Rooms are available on Sundays for just over $500. By comparison, on Saturday, Oct. 19, rooms cost just over $300.
This pattern is basically the same for any hotel in the area.
City and state coffers are supported by packed hotels and high room rates. When guests stay in town, they pay a hotel tax equal to nearly 15% of the room rate. The higher the rate, the better the conveyance. The funds are distributed among cities, states, local transportation departments, and several other agencies and commissions. Guests in short-term rentals pay a separate tax that goes to the city’s infrastructure fund and New Orleans & Company, the city’s tourism marketing agency.
“Every visitor that comes in is bringing money from somewhere else and leaving it behind,” said Walt Leisure of New Orleans and Company. “These are the types of taxes that everyone likes, and they’re someone else’s taxes.”
Swifties spend a lot of money
The Eras tour began March 17, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona and has now visited 46 cities. At each stop, fans spent money on accommodations, food, transportation, and experiences. That means there are plenty of examples of what to expect in New Orleans, the smallest city on the tour.
The U.S. Travel Association estimated that each Swiftie spent an average of $1,300 on travel, lodging, meals, merchandise and apparel after the first leg of the tour.
Swift’s six shows in the Los Angeles area increased Los Angeles County’s gross domestic product by $320 million, according to the California Employment and Economic Center. Employment increased by 3,300 people and local revenue increased by $160 million.
Rebecca Fox moves the “Reputation” table decorations during preparations for the Taylor Swift convention at the Holiday Inn on Loyola Street in New Orleans on Wednesday, September 25, 2024.
Matthew Parshall
As of February, restaurants in the 20 U.S. cities visited by Swift collected an additional $100 million in sales, according to the Robb Report, which cited a study by Mastercard. Restaurants within four miles of Swift’s venue saw a 68% increase in sales per show day.
In Cincinnati, the local tourism board reported $2.6 million in revenue from 3,500 hotel rooms in the city’s downtown during Swift’s June and July performances.
“This was a much bigger economic impact than we could have imagined,” said Joe Pinto of the Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau, noting that downtown hotels had 98% occupancy during the two days of Swift’s show. reported.
“Two events in one”
Naturally, New Orleans tourism promoters are pleased that the city is one of three U.S. cities added to the 2024 Eras Encore Run.
The city missed the first game of the tour due to scheduling conflicts at the Caesar Superdome, which just completed a $560 million renovation in preparation for the 2025 Super Bowl. Announced last August, the New Orleans show will take place on the Saints’ away weekend and just before Halloween. Once the first batch of tickets went on sale, they sold out within minutes.
That demand means local tourism promoters are hoping for an economic boost comparable to Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest or even Super Bowl LIX, which will be held in the city in February. .
New Orleans restaurants are bracing for an influx of customers, especially after a slow summer when higher post-pandemic costs for groceries, labor and insurance added to the stress.
“Call it Taylornomics or Swiftlift, call it what you want. It’s going to be a huge boost for restaurants, and we’re ready for it,” said Wendy Warren, senior vice president of communications for the Louisiana Restaurant Association. he said. “Halloween is a big revenue driver,” Warren said. “Swifties are flooding into the city, and it’s like having two big events in one.”
Themed dining experiences are popping up all over the city.
Commander’s Palace hosts an “Era” menu event featuring menus from a variety of chefs throughout the restaurant’s long history.
Four Seasons Hotel’s Miss River Restaurant will host a Taylor Swift-inspired brunch with a live DJ. Tableau in the French Quarter is hosting a “balcony brunch” featuring a friendship bracelet-making station and life-sized cutouts of Taylor Swift and her NFL player boyfriend, Travis Kelsey.
Countless other eateries in the city are doing the same.
Nonprofits and small businesses benefit
Children’s Hospital New Orleans has raised more than $700,000 so far through a raffle of Taylor Swift suite tickets obtained from an anonymous donor. Other nonprofit organizations are also participating in the raffle, including the Children’s Museum of Louisiana.
Meanwhile, small businesses are considering how they can generate revenue from concerts.
Kelsey Campion, CEO and “Chief Sequin Officer” of Fringe+co., is building a series of Swift-inspired selfie stations and hosting events at her Howard Avenue studio, where she designs luxury handmade apparel. Masu.
Exterior of Fringe+co. The clothing company, already pretty in pink, is decked out in giant friendship bracelets to commemorate Taylor Swift’s New Orleans show. (Photo by Rich Collins, Times-Picayune)
rich collins
Timothy Wegner, manager of Nicky’s French Quarter Halloween Store, said the store stocked up on options because they knew Swift-inspired looks were in demand.
“I don’t have a specific Taylor Swift look, so I ordered a bunch of cowboy hats, sparkly skirts, and friendship bracelets to just have the basics,” he said.
Golden Goose, located on Canal Place, sells high-end distressed sneakers with the option of a Swifty treatment by a local artist. Shoes range in price from $350 to more than $2,000, with custom art starting at $150.
Swift-themed drag shows will be held at the Virgin Hotel in the CBD and Always Lounge at the Marigny. The paddle steamer Creole Queen invites Swifty on a special cruise.
And in perhaps the biggest single Swiftie event outside the gleaming aluminum walls of the Superdome, superfan Rebecca Fox will be hosting an unofficial Eras Convention at the Holiday Inn downtown throughout the weekend.
Leger said all of these efforts add up to a big win for the city.
“The economic impact will be equal to or greater than other large-scale events we host,” he said. “And after Taylor Swift, we have the Super Bowl in February and Mardi Gras in March. Being at the center of all the action around the world for the last five months is a different business for us. I hope that changes.”
