Concerts Are Becoming a Reason to Travel
Concerts are no longer simply an activity enjoyed during a holiday. For a growing proportion of Asian audiences, they are becoming the very reason for travelling.
This is one of the main findings of the study The Concert Travel Effect in Asia, jointly published by Trip.com Group and Live Nation Asia, which examines concertgoer behaviour across six markets: mainland China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand and South Korea.
According to the survey, 65% of respondents say they have previously travelled to another country or region to attend a concert. Seven in ten also consider live music one of the most appealing motivations for travel.
The trend reflects a shift in travel decision-making: destination choice can now be driven by an artist’s concert schedule rather than by the traditional attractions of the destination itself.
For accommodation providers, this creates a source of demand directly linked to event calendars.
Trips That Extend Well Beyond the Concert Itself
The study highlights an important characteristic for the hotel industry: concert-related travel generally extends beyond the evening of the performance.
Survey respondents indicated that they would like to spend an average of four days at the destination.
This intended length of stay creates opportunities not only for hotels but also for restaurants, transport providers and tourism activities.
The concert therefore becomes the starting point for broader tourism expenditure, combining accommodation, destination discovery and local experiences.
Another finding is that 62% of respondents identify securing concert tickets as the main trigger for organising their trip.
Concert ticket sales therefore precede many decisions relating to transport and accommodation.
For hoteliers, this sequence has operational significance. International tour announcements and ticket release dates can become useful indicators for forecasting demand, adjusting pricing policies and planning distribution strategies.
Strong Growth in Concert and Travel Package Bookings
The expansion of music tourism is also reflected in Trip.com Group’s commercial data.
Since launching their partnership in 2025, Trip.com Group and Live Nation Asia have offered packages combining concert admission, accommodation, transport and local experiences across the six markets covered by the study.
In the first half of 2026, bookings for packages including concert tickets increased by 64% year on year, according to figures released by Trip.com Group.
Meanwhile, 84% of surveyed concertgoers expressed an interest in packages combining concerts with travel services.
These findings demonstrate demand for solutions that allow travellers to book several elements of a trip through a single purchasing journey.
However, they do not directly measure growth across the entire concert-related hotel market. The 64% increase relates to packages sold within the activities monitored by Trip.com Group, rather than all tourism bookings generated by live music events.
Bo Sun, Chief Marketing Officer of Trip.com Group, emphasises that experience-led travel is playing an increasingly important role in destination choice. The group is therefore seeking to connect the events that inspire people to travel with the services required to organise their trips.
K-pop, Fan Communities and Destination Appeal
The type of performance and the mobilisation of fan communities also influence tourism flows.
In Bangkok, K-pop concerts attract nearly twice as many international concertgoers as performances by artists from other categories, according to the study.
This difference illustrates the ability of certain music genres to generate cross-border travel.
The survey also reveals that two in three concertgoers regard their fan community as a central part of the concert experience.
Travel can therefore be organised around groups sharing a common interest, potentially encouraging group bookings and stays incorporating several activities.
James Dick, Executive Vice President, Partnerships and Media at Live Nation Asia, highlights how a concert can turn a city into a must-visit destination for an artist’s fans.
The economic impact consequently extends beyond ticket sales: visitors require accommodation, food and transport, while often taking the opportunity to explore the destination during their stay.
What Are the Implications for Hotel Operators and Investors?
For the hotel industry, the study’s findings highlight several commercial opportunities.
The first concerns revenue management. Tour announcements, ticket release dates and venue capacities can help anticipate demand peaks, particularly in destinations hosting artists with international audiences.
Incorporating these events into occupancy forecasts can facilitate adjustments to room rates, length-of-stay restrictions and availability across distribution channels.
The second opportunity concerns distribution. The interest expressed in concert and travel packages confirms demand for integrated offers. Partnerships between booking platforms, concert organisers and hotels can help capture this customer segment from the moment tickets are purchased.
The third concerns asset positioning. For hotels located near major concert venues or offering convenient access to entertainment districts, music programming can provide an additional competitive advantage.
Nevertheless, a distinction must be made between the temporary impact of a major concert and the recurring demand required to sustain a hotel’s long-term performance.
The economic value of this customer segment depends particularly on event frequency, the number of visitors travelling from outside the destination, actual lengths of stay and their contribution to hotel revenue.
Event Tourism as a Competitive Advantage for Asian Destinations
Beyond individual hotels, the study underlines the growing importance of live music programming in enhancing destination appeal.
Cities capable of hosting international concerts can benefit from additional tourism flows, particularly when artists have fan communities spread across several countries.
However, this requires appropriate infrastructure, including concert venues, air connectivity, urban transport and sufficient accommodation capacity.
For destinations, the challenge is to turn a one-off event into a longer tourism stay by encouraging spending on complementary activities.
For hotel groups, owners and investors, the growth of concert-driven travel therefore represents an additional indicator to incorporate into demand analysis.
It does not replace the fundamentals of a hotel market, but it can help strengthen performance during certain periods and diversify customer segments.
In this respect, the Trip.com Group and Live Nation Asia study confirms a shift in travel behaviour: the experience travellers seek is increasingly determining their choice of destination, rather than the other way around.
Methodology: Six Markets and 1,768 Respondents
The study The Concert Travel Effect in Asia is based on a quantitative survey conducted in July 2026 among 1,768 respondents using OnePoll and Live Nation Soundboard.
It combines these self-reported findings with booking data from Trip.com Group and ticketing data from Ticketmaster.
The findings relate exclusively to the six markets studied and cannot be extrapolated to Asian tourism as a whole.
Year-on-year comparisons cover the period from 1 January to 30 June 2026, compared with the first half of 2025.
At a Glance by The Hospitality Tribune
CONCERT TRAVEL | ASIA 2026
• 65% of surveyed concertgoers have travelled internationally or regionally for a concert
• 64% year-on-year growth in bundled concert travel bookings in H1 2026
• 84% interested in concert and travel packages
• Four days: average desired stay in the destination
• Research covering six Asian markets and 1,768 respondents
