2024 Travel Trends: Music Tourism

The Rise of Music and Concert Tourism

Music tourism has seen significant growth in the last few years, particularly since the pandemic where live and in-person experiences were largely impossible for many travellers around the world. 

This growing trend sits in conjunction with the rise in popularity of experiential tourism (link), one of the more notable shifts in traveller behaviours within the industry. Travellers are prioritising travel governed by both immersive and cultural events, activities and experiences to enrich their trips. What used to be a niche interest is now becoming a globally impactful tourism trend for 2024 and beyond.

Findings from Amadeus have shown that music tourism plays a vital role in stimulating local economies. Notable global artists such as Taylor Swift, Coldplay, and Beyonce have been found to have a substantial impact on search and booking volumes for destinations featured on their tour schedules. For instance, flights to Romania saw a surge of up to 91%, while Athens experienced a 62% increase in interest. Beyonce's performance in Sweden during her Renaissance World Tour drew a massive crowd of around 90,000 to Stockholm, highlighting the power of music tourism in driving economic growth.

Daniel Batchelor, Vice President, Global Corporate Marketing & Communications at Amadeus, said: 

“Consumer research shows that this year travellers 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?”

What Are the Opportunities for Travel Providers?

As part of our strategic focus on the growth of experiential tourism and the exploration of key travel trends for 2024, music tourism is in alignment with the behaviour of many global travellers. They are actively pursuing experiences that resonate with their beliefs and preferences, as well as immersing themselves in their chosen destination. Music tourism offers unique and memorable experiences catered to all types of travellers.

In fact, Amadeus has also suggested that music tourism is one of the ‘key drivers of European tourism in 2024’, and so it stands to reason that this will continue to be a key driver of travel trends for years to come.

So then, the question remains: what about the opportunities for travel providers when it comes to music travel and tourism?

Insights

Our innovative recommendation tool, Insights, has been tailor-made for travel providers to enhance efficiency in your daily tasks and keep you at the forefront of travel industry trends.

How? By using an internal algorithm to determine market-specific trends based on several key factors including:

• Seasonality
• Historical search data
• Real-time customer bookings
• Historical booking data

This means Insights can provide recommendations based on customer bookings in your market, offering you destinations more likely to be booked by your ideal audience.  

As a unique web portal, Insights transforms complex booking data into a user-friendly interface, that allows you as the provider, full control over your recommendations. Save, Anchor or Discard your recommendations as they are served to you, for even better personalisation in the future, allowing you to even easier identify which destinations, hotels and experiences offer the most potential for your business and your profits.

So, how is this relevant to travel trends, and therefore music tourism?  

Well, Insights allows you to keep up with increasing demand in your market, and considering the fact that some global artists drive significant shifts in destination demand, especially for tours, Insights allows you to track real-time bookings and competitor activity. Leveraging data intelligence on these crucial factors, you can react promptly to meet the surge in demand.

Sign up today to access this useful recommendation tool.

Travel Packages

It is evident that there is a significant demand for music-centric experiences among super fans and casual music lovers worldwide. There is a unique opportunity for collaboration between travel providers, event organisers, and host destinations to curate enticing and memorable experiences as these sectors intersect.

In a prime demonstration of this intersectional collaboration, the organisers of Tomorrowland, a prominent European music festival located on the outskirts of Antwerp, Belgium, are providing international music enthusiasts the opportunity to reserve travel packages that include the chance to explore Belgium before immersing themselves in performances by top DJs from around the globe.

Consider how you as a travel provider might be able to curate enticing packages that could boost your sales. Here are some key considerations, though, for capitalising on music events and experiences as extra revenue:

• Identify music travel experiences which align with our ideal market or customer. Sometimes, smaller and more ‘obscure’ events offer more opportunities than events on a grander scale.  
• Keep your packages concise and focused, to avoid confusing travellers.
• Ensure that travellers have the flexbility to amend the travel dates to either arrive before, or stay on after the event or experience you’re curating their trip around.
• Navigate package prices carefully, as after all, the lead price is what gets you traffic and keeps people moving through the booking process.

And of course when curating packages, a travel booking platform with integrated cross-selling and upselling functionalities can greatly simplify the process and provide a comprehensive booking experience. You can easily find, and book, our vast portfolio of products and services, with easy access to exclusive and differentiated properties, offers, and rate types; but also experiences and mobility services such as tickets, car hire and transfers.

Our Booking Engine allows you to:

• Build itineraries for each customer whether they’re simple or complex.
• Offer add-ons at the time of booking (and after) to offer truly end-to-end travel plans.
• Provide flexible payment options to cater to a range of budgets.
• Choose from over 200,000 hotels and 16,000 experiences to build out the perfect, enriched trip no matter each clients’ preferences.

Sign up today to start maximising every booking with this comprehensive travel booking platform.

What are the Key Drivers of Music Tourism?

Music festivals - these are undeniably one of the most influential factors in the realm of music tourism. Some of these festivals attract millions of visitors, profoundly affecting the local economy and the worldwide demand for travel services to, from, and within these locations.

Social Media Travel Marketing - The digital age has significantly impacted the accessibility and expansion of music tourism. Shared experiences are now easily accessible on user feeds and explore pages, while recommended videos delivered through algorithms can influence travel choices. Additionally, user-generated content like uploaded sets and performances on platforms such as YouTube have been available for a long time. 

Unique Experiential Tourism - The cornerstone of music tourism hinges on its distinctive quality; the ambience produced and felt at festivals or concerts, a sensation often unattainable through virtual or digital means. This unique element draws in travelers seeking authentic and unforgettable experiences during their journeys, and lends itself well as a lens through which experiential tourism, a key trend in the last few years, can be explored for travellers with different preferences and interests.

Personalisation Opportunities for Travel Sellers - There is a music and arts festival for every traveller preference, allowing for a greater degree of personalisation when it comes to travellers' perfect musical itinerary.  

The Emotional Synergy Between Music and Travel - The connection between music and travel is deeply rooted in the emotional and evocative nature of both experiences. It is no surprise that they are often intertwined, as music has the ability to elevate the overall travel experience, creating a unique and impactful form of tourism.

For travelers, whether they are heading to a local venue to catch a small band, embarking on a long journey to see their favorite artist in a stadium tour, or planning a trip to a festival to join thousands of fellow music enthusiasts, there is a music event out there that will surely get them in the groove.

And with music festivals as one of the main drivers of this type of travel, let’s look at just a handful of some of the different festivals out there, each of which draws its own type of traveller and experience-seeker.

Inspiration: A Selection of Popular Music Festivals and Events

Here are a handful of recommendations worth traveling for!

Europe

Hailed for its romantic cities and diverse cultures, Europe also plays host to some of the world’s most famous music festivals!  

• For community-seekers – Glastonbury, UK; 2000 Trees, UK; Sziget, Budapest.
• For hard rockers – Download Festival, UK; Rock Im Park & Rock Am Ring, Germany.
• For world music – WOMAD, UK; Sziget, Budapest; Primavera Sound, Barcelona.
• For arts and culture - The Edinburgh Fringe in Scotland draws thousands of visitors, as one of the most popular arts and culture festivals in the world.
• For the biggest crowds – Tomorrowland, Belgium; Sonar, Barcelona; Lollapalooza, multiple cities.

North America & Canada

It is widely known that events such as Coachella in California and Lollapalooza in Chicago (and now globally) are among the many annual festivals held in the United States that have had a significant impact on the festival industry. While these are highly acclaimed international events, there are numerous other festivals throughout the country that cater to a wide range of musical tastes.

• For Blues & Jazz,- Since 1984, the Chicago Blues Festival has been the world's largest free blues festival; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which spans 7 days!
• For Hip-hop, R&B – Friends and Lovers, Las Vegas; Rolling Loud, Miami; Something In The Water, VA.
• For Indigenous Culture – the Indigenous Music and Arts festival at Ganondagan; Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival in Ottawa.
• For the classics, world music -Festival d'été de Québec, VELD Music Festival, Canada.
• For relaxation - Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Tennesee.

Central and South America

• For celebrations of Latin music - Baja Beach Fest, Mexico; PAAX GNP Festival. Mexico, for classical musicians, ballet, opera, and dance performers.
• For a party - Empire Music Festival, Guetamala; Time Warp Festival, Brazil; Baum Festival, Columbia; Primavera Sound Festival Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Asia Pacific  

What could be better than providing year-round music opportunities? While the current season aligns with the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere, there are numerous must-see music festivals in Asia Pacific destinations that shouldn't be overlooked by travelLers.

Australia  

• For Australia’s biggest – Vivid Sydney; Splendour In The Grass.
• For community - Rainbow Spirit Festival; Byron Bay Blues Fest; Lost Paradise Festival.
• For a travelling festival – Laneway Festival (Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Sydney).
• For First Nations culture – Parrtjima - A Festival in Light; Barunga Festival; Desert Mob.

South Korea

While C-pop and J-pop have been making waves in western media for decades, the more recent skyrocketing popularity of K-pop is making South Korea turn musical heads no matter the continent!  

• For world-class stage productions – Seoul, for a K-pop performance! The city hosts many solo and group performances from the industry's best acts.
• For immersive experiences – SMTown Live, with performances from world-renowned groups. The 2024 event went overseas to Tokyo!
• For showcase events – KCON; Weverse Con Festival; Seoul World DJ Festival, and Seoul Jazz Festival, which offers three days of performances from acclaimed artists to local indie acts.

Japan

• For international rock and electronic – Fuji Rock Festival (Japan’s biggest), Summer Sonic, Ultra Japan.
• For showcase events - MBC Music Core in Japan; KCON Japan.
• For a good cause – Greenroom Festival, based on the ethos of ‘Save The Beach, Save The Ocean’
• For tradition – Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto; Hakata Dontaku Matsuri; Kyoto Gion Matsuri for incredible parades, traditional music and festivities that can last a whole month!  

South Asia

• For awe-inspiring crowds – Sunburn Festival, Goa – Asia’s largest music festival, which attracts around 1 million music-lovers.
• For international and eclectic line ups – Creamfields, Taiwain; S2O Songkran Music Festival, Thailand; We The Fest, Indonesia; Clockenflap, Hong Kong.
• For a ship-shape festival - It’s The Ship, Asia’s largest festival at sea which makes its way from Busan through Nagasaki Japan and back to Busan.
• For unforgettable locations - Great Wall Festival, China. Techno on the Great Wall, it’s not to be missed!  

While this list is not comprehensive, it should give you a good understanding of the value of music tourism and how you can start taking advantage of this trend if you haven't already.

For timesaving, valuable tools and services that will maximise the way you work, why not sign up to become one of our valuable clients?

Gain access to intuitive tools like Insights, which helps you track and keep ahead of travel trends, as well as our powerful travel booking platform the Booking Engine.