- BTS' world tour announcement alone has resulted in an instant increase in global travel and hotel inquiries.
- The tour's 82-date itinerary places it among the most lucrative concert cycles in K-pop history.
- The comeback solidifies BTS' status as a cultural asset capable of translating overseas popularity into national impact.
BTS' announcement of the 2026-27 Arirang World Tour, the group's first global live show since finishing their military service obligations, is already having a significant economic impact in South Korea and beyond. Industry reports note that travel searches, lodging demand, and ticket sales have all increased ahead of the tour's first event on April 9 in Goyang, near Seoul.
82-Date Global Tour Signals Full-scale BTS Return
BTS, the South Korean group consisting of RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, will tour the world to promote their new studio album Arirang, with 82 shows in 34 locations across five continents scheduled until March 2027. The route begins in the Goyang Sports Complex and covers major markets throughout North America, Europe, South America, and Asia, with more stops planned for Japan and the Middle East.
Notably, BigHit Music said that tickets for the North American and European legs have sold out rapidly, thus requiring more shows to be added in areas like Tampa, Stanford and Las Vegas. The North American leg begins on April 25 in Tampa and will feature 28 performances in 12 cities.
BTS will create history by performing at places such as Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, making them the first and largest K-pop groups to ever host such large-scale events in these areas. The group’s European stops will include places like Madrid, Brussels, London, Munich and Paris in their lineup, with the septet returning to South Korea in June for shows in Busan (June 12-13).
BigHit Music
Travel, Lodging Searches Surge Across South Korea and Other Host Countries
Booking data from Hotels.com shows that overseas searches for Seoul travel increased 155% within 48 hours of the BTS Arirang world tour announcement on Jan. 14 compared to the previous week. Notably, searches for Busan also increased 2,375%, indicating intense demand around concert dates. Additionally, in major Asian K-pop markets such as Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, searches for trips to Busan soared by several thousand percent. Domestic travel searches also increased dramatically, with Seoul up 190% and Busan up 3,855%.
After the tour dates were revealed, local tourism boards and travel firms have reported a surge in hotel and transportation queries throughout various host cities. This, in turn, strained reservation systems with several lodging entities hiking their accommodation prices during peak periods. Interestingly, The Korea Times noted that transit searches to São Paulo increased by over 600-fold in Brazil.
Furthermore, The Guardian reports that economists in the United Kingdom and the United States have observed the tour to be a unique cultural event with the ability to transform regional tourism activity. Typical economic multipliers associated with live events may experience a push due to BTS' global influence, backed by their audience worldwide. This includes supplementary spending on food, lodging, and local services.
Permission to Dance, BTS' most recent tour in 2021, consisted of only three cities and twelve shows. Four nights in Los Angeles reportedly produced more than $100 million USD for the local economy, while Las Vegas was claimed to have brought in $160M USD, sums that the upcoming tour is projected to surpass several times over.
According to Bread Financial, non-local attendees spend approximately 3.4 times their ticket price on travel and tourism expenses in the local economy. However, Michael Mariano from tourism-focused research firm Tourism Economics said that BTS goes much beyond conventional benchmarks. Mariano stated, “These average figures aren’t applicable to BTS. They will well surpass these numbers, and I honestly don’t think it’s possible to understand how big this tour can be.”
BTS continues to have a significant impact on Korea's global image, in addition to its direct economic impacts. As per The Korea Times, the country’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism's 2025 National Image Survey, placed the group on top amongst Korean personalities who have helped boost the country's international image, having a favorable impact. Notably, BTS’ youngest member Jungkook finished sixth individually in overall placements, making him the highest-ranking solo performer on the list.
Ticket Demand Turns BTS 2026 Comeback Into Tourism Engine
Presales and general ticket releases have been met with fierce competition, with long digital queues and sellouts recorded across countries. Fans are changing their vacation plans months in advance to get flights and rooms, boosting early tourism earnings far before the first notes are played by K-pop superpower.
Beyond simple economic figures, BTS' return demonstrates the group's soft-power footprint. The government has always preferred the group with previous government surveys ranking BTS as the top Korean cultural ambassadors for global perception on various occasions. Their UN ambassadorship too explains their impact. With individual members such as Jungkook and Jimin charting solo successes in major charts, local economies are feeling Arirang Tour’s pull; not as a distant promise but as an active driver of travel and commerce, thus proving that the economic rhythm of global pop music begins now.
