Canadian Taylor Swift fans are flying to Europe for cheaper concert tickets
CBC
Taking a trip to Europe to see Taylor Swift perform may not seem like an intuitive financial decision — but tickets to a concert in Canada are so expensive some fans are finding that's a better deal.
Bryan Kingston couldn't believe it when he snagged floor seats to an upcoming show in London, U.K., for $500 each on a resale website, when he had paid twice as much in Detroit last year.
"I found it was much cheaper," said the 40-year-old, who works in advertising in Hamilton, Ont.
"The difference in price actually paid for my flight to Europe."
He's still spending a sizeable sum. But for Kingston and other Swifties who can afford it, even with the cost of a flight, hotel and ticket, travelling for the concert may end up being better bang for their buck than seeing it in Canada.
He has friends heading to Scotland, Portugal and France, and said he couldn't pass up the opportunity to combine the concert with a vacation.
"It is honestly the best show I've ever been to in my life, otherwise, I wouldn't be making the trip."
Retail tickets for shows on Swift's record-setting Eras Tour in North America and Europe sold out almost instantly. Many then popped up on resale sites just as quickly. On StubHub, the cheapest seat to a Toronto concert in November right now is listed at $2,822. Yet the cost to get in the door in Stockholm this weekend is just a fraction of that price — $83.
Pascal Courty, an economics professor at the University of Victoria, suggests much of the disparity can be explained by basic economics. The European leg of Swift's tour boasts 51 shows across 18 cities, accommodating crowds of more than 40,000 each night.
"But the demand in some of these countries is not as strong," he said. "In Europe, compared to other artists, maybe she's not No. 1."
Courty says in Canada, the huge fan base compared to the limited number of shows — at just nine — contributes to the steeper ticket prices on the secondary market.
"If Swift would give a concert every night in Toronto, at some point, the price of the tickets would be very low. It might take 12 concerts, it might take 18 concerts, but there's a point where the demand is going to be exhausted."
While fans in Europe may still face markups when buying resale tickets, governments there have been taking steps to address ticketing issues. In some countries, including Ireland, Portugal and Denmark, tickets cannot be resold for more than their original price. France has some of the strongest rules, where offenders can be fined thousands of euros.
Sam Shemtob, managing director of the Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT), says this shift has made a difference.
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