I’m the kind of visitor who plans their travel around music events, shows, festivals and concerts. Tour dates go live, I fight the bots to grab tickets, block off the PTO and build everything else around that one night. The show sets the coordinates.
But it’s not just me. It’s how a growing number of leisure travelers plan their getaways.
Music Tourism is more than a notch in the travel niche long tail. According to a new report from Credence Research, the global music tourism market is projected to grow from $102 billion in 2024 to more than $400 billion by 2032. That’s a compound annual growth rate of 18.6%. Nearly fourfold growth in under a decade, driven by the rising demand for live music experiences that double as cultural deep-dives.
Millennials and Gen Z are fueling the surge. They’re choosing memories and moments over things. And I get it.
I’ve waited in blistering heat and freezing rain for doors to open. I’ve booked flights to see shows at Red Rocks or The Wiltern. My wife and I have shaped entire vacations around concerts and festivals, from Las Vegas to Long Beach to Jamaica.
Add a great place to stay, a walkable neighborhood, a surprise gallery or museum and the trip becomes more than just a show. I still think about the concert we saw at Red Rocks in 2017. We stayed the weekend in Denver, wandered through its art scene and spent a day at the art museum. One night of music became four days of discovery.
There’s nothing else that hits the same as these experiences and memories.
Right now, North America leads the market with anchor events like Coachella, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. But what’s powering this movement isn’t just the scale. It’s emotional.
Music connects people. Not just to each other, but to the destinations where the music comes alive. The right destination does more than just host the concert. It becomes part of the show.
Destinations are Underestimating the Music Traveler
Despite the market’s explosive growth, most destinations still treat music tourism as an afterthought.
Even for major festivals that draw tens of thousands of visitors, many destination websites offer little more than a basic event listing: a photo, a sentence or two of description, the date and a map.
No lodging guidance. No dining suggestions. No context to help travelers build a full experience.
That disconnect becomes even clearer when you compare how destinations treat different types of travelers. Many destinations go all-in on content for business travelers, meeting planners and media. They build curated itineraries, downloadable toolkits and polished press kits, often anticipating needs before they’re even voiced.
But despite the size and spending power of festival crowds, most destinations still treat music events as one-off entries in an event calendar. No lodging suggestions. No local tips. No effort to shape the experience.
Festivals can rival conventions in terms of economic impact. These aren’t fringe events. Festivals drive hotel bookings, restaurant traffic, retail sales and repeat visitation. In many cases, their footprint mirrors that of large conventions, but without the strategic support.
Music travelers plan with purpose; they’re not just dropping in. They book ahead, spend freely and seek out full itineraries around the show.
Make Every Show a Destination Story
Music tourism isn’t passive. These travelers aren’t stumbling across events. They’re booking trips around the shows sometimes a year or more in advance.
That means destinations have a rare window of intent: a moment when visitors have their concert tickets secured, are excited, and are now actively planning their flight, accommodations and other activities. But if all they find is a date and a poster image on the destination website, that visitor has to turn elsewhere for the information they’re looking for. There’s an opportunity for DMOs to influence the entire trip experience.
Start with where they’ll sleep: Some are looking for a cool Airbnb steps from the festival gates. Others are ready to splurge on high-end hotels with strong amenities and zero hassle. Don’t assume the crowd is just hunting for deals. The five-star Fontainebleau is walking distance from When We Were Young in Vegas, and plenty of festivalgoers are willing to pay for both the luxury and convenience.
Fill in the space around the show: The concert might be the anchor, but it’s not the whole trip. Travelers want to explore. Give them a reason to stick around with smart recommendations like art galleries, parks, independent shops and cultural spots that speak to the local scene. They’re already in a spending mindset. Just show them where to go.
Make dining part of the experience: Bars and restaurants near festival zones have a chance to do more than just serve food. Share spots that fit the energy of the crowd and help businesses lean into the moment. If a reggae fest is coming through, maybe that country bar down the block swaps the playlist for a few days. That simple switch could change the night.
The small stuff sticks: Limited-edition drinks. A clever menu nod to the headliner. Even a chalkboard sign that welcomes the festival crowd by name. These details turn into social posts, group chats and return visits. They become part of the story people tell when they go home.
Music Tourists Show Up Ready to Spend
These travelers aren’t just showing up for the headliner. They’re shaping their entire trip around the show, and once they arrive, they come ready to open their wallets.
At festivals, it’s not uncommon for fans to wait in line for hours for a limited-edition hoodie or vinyl they can’t get anywhere else. The merchandise is part of the full experience. And the spending spills beyond the merch tent. It goes into restaurants, hotels, boutique shops and experiential add-ons.
Consider Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Hotels in their host cities posted explosive gains. JLL values show the tour added about $1 billion in hotel revenue across markets. In many cities, RevPAR (revenue per available room) jumped nearly 20% above pre‑pandemic levels. Local businesses boomed, from bars and restaurants to transit and retail.
The Eras Tour was so impactful that there’s a Wikipedia page about its influence.
Destinations that get this are building layers, not directory listings. They curate packages that bundle lodging, dining, attractions and local culture. They lean into themed events on off nights. They give visitors a city to explore, not just a stage to attend.
And it isn’t only about stadiums or global tours. Even smaller venues can command attention and loyalty. One unforgettable show in a historic theater, a local club or a chapel can anchor an entire weekend.
That’s what music tourism delivers: connection, memory and economic impact. Travel for the music, stay for the destination.
Insert Your Destination Into a Soundtrack
Music tourism is already shaping how people plan trips and spend their money. It belongs in the same conversation as sports travel and meetings & conventions.
Speak to these travelers directly. Build content around their rhythm. Done right, you’re not just boosting a single weekend. You’re earning repeat visitors who come back with every new tour, every new memory, every new reason to keep exploring your city.
Need some direction or support on developing strategy, content or campaigns around music tourism? Let’s talk.
