The announcement of the world tour by the group BTS is stirring global tourism and economies.
BTS will kick off their BTS WORLD TOUR “ARIRANG” on April 9 at Goyang Stadium, performing in 34 cities across North America, Europe, South America, and Asia. The tour, running for a total of 82 shows, is already triggering immediate reactions across tourism and economic sectors in each region.
According to global accommodation platform Hotels.com, in the 48 hours following the tour announcement on the 14th, searches for trips to Seoul from overseas surged by 155% compared to the previous week. Search volume for Busan, where the concerts will take place in June, skyrocketed by 2,375%. In key Asian markets like Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, searches related to travel to Busan increased by several thousand percent. Domestic travel searches also saw sharp rises, with Seoul up 190% and Busan up 3,855%.
Overseas local responses have been equally enthusiastic. Brazil’s news radio BandNews FM highlighted BTS’s upcoming October concert in São Paulo as a major event. Citing data from local transportation booking platform ClickBus, they reported that searches for bus tickets to São Paulo increased more than 600 times following the tour announcement.
The British daily The Guardian focused on the economic ripple effects of BTS’s world tour. Economists described it as a “global event capable of significantly impacting urban economies across North America.” The article predicted increased demand in tourism, lodging, and consumer spending in cities hosting the concert. Quoting financial services company Bread Financial, it noted that generally, one concert ticket generates more than triple the local economic activity on average. However, tourism-focused economic analysis firm Tourism Economics emphasized, “These averages do not apply to BTS. They far exceed these figures, making it difficult to even estimate the full economic ripple effect of this tour.”
BTS not only influences the global economy but also plays a significant role in enhancing South Korea’s national image. In the recent “2025 South Korea National Image Survey” released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, BTS was ranked first as Koreans who have positively impacted the Korean image. Additionally, Jungkook secured the highest position (6th) among solo singers.
BTS will release their 5th full-length album “ARIRANG” on March 20 at 1pm. The new release includes 14 tracks and is expected to resonate with global music fans by addressing universal emotions such as the group’s identity, longing, and deep love.