The global tourism and economy are abuzz over the news that the group BTS will hold a world tour.
BTS will begin the 'BTS WORLD TOUR "ARIRANG"' on April 9 at the main stadium of Goyang Sports Complex and will perform in 34 cities across North America, Europe, South America and Asia. This tour, held over a total of 82 shows, is immediately affecting tourism and the overall economy in each region.
According to global accommodation platform Hotels.com, in the 48 hours after BTS announced their tour plans on the 14th, searches for trips to Seoul from abroad increased 155% compared with the previous week. Searches for Busan, where a June concert will be held, surged by a staggering 2,375%. In major Asian markets such as Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, searches for travel to Busan rose by several thousand percent. Domestic searches for travel to Seoul (190%) and Busan (3,855%) also increased sharply.
Local reactions overseas are also hot. Brazil's news radio BandNews FM covered BTS's Sao Paulo concert, scheduled for October, as a major issue. Citing data from local transportation sales platform ClickBus, they reported that after the tour announcement, searches for bus tickets to Sao Paulo increased more than 600 times compared with immediately before.
The Guardian focused on the economic ripple effects BTS's world tour could bring. It reported economists' assessment that it is a global event capable of having a major impact on the city economies across North America. It went on to predict increased demand across tourism, lodging and general consumption in each city where concerts are held. Quoting financial services company Bread Financial, it analyzed that, generally, a single concert ticket generates more than three times the spending effect in a local economy on average. Tourism Economics, a tourism-focused economic analysis firm, said these averages do not apply to BTS, emphasizing that they will far exceed those figures and that it is difficult even to gauge the extent of the tour's economic ripple effect.
BTS not only influences the global economy but also plays a major role in enhancing Korea's image. In the '2025 national image survey of Korea' released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, they were ranked first as the 'Koreans who positively influenced Korea's image.' In addition, Jungkook ranked the highest among solo singers (sixth).
BTS will release their fifth studio album, ARIRANG, on March 20 at 1 p.m. The new record contains a total of 14 tracks. It is expected to resonate with global music fans by addressing the team's identity, longing and deep love, universal emotions.
[Photo] Provided by BigHit Music.
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