It stings when out-of-towners flock to a nearby concert that you couldn’t get tickets to, but at least your economy might get the last laugh. Taylor Swift’s and Beyoncé’s GDP-shifting world tours showed how restaurants and hotels can reap massive benefits when big arena shows come to town. So, go ahead—let all those other fans drop $300 on nosebleed seats while you bask in the economic ripple effects.

The next Eras Tour: Flights and hotel rooms in 34 cities around the world quickly sold out this year after the K-pop phenomenon BTS announced it was back together and going on an international tour. The group’s return is so eagerly anticipated that Booking.com searches surged 6,700% compared to a year prior for a November tour date in one Taiwanese host city.

Globally, the World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates that music tourism could surpass $9 billion in value by 2030 (driven by millennial and Gen Z spending power), marking a 50% increase from 2023.

That’s peanuts compared to sports tourism, which could comfortably surpass $1 trillion in the next few years, per the WEF. A chunk of that spending will happen in California, where tourist revenue is already among the highest in the US:

• After putting on the Super Bowl and the NBA All-Star Game last month, the Golden State will host FIFA World Cup games this summer, the Super Bowl (again) next year, and the Olympics in 2028.
• All together, the upcoming events are expected to generate billions of dollars locally.
• For context, the CEO of the San Francisco 49ers said the most recent Super Bowl alone brought in ~$500 million to the Bay Area (though some academics are skeptical of that figure).

Other hot spots include…Sydney, London, Barcelona, Paris, Dubai, and New York, which top the leaderboards for event-based travel overall. For host cities, concerts and sports matches can be the perfect lure—30% of international event tourists plan to return to wherever they’re visiting, per the WEF.—ML

Somebody wave the red flag, because Formula 1 is making it rain at racetracks around the world. The open-wheel auto racing competition hit $3.9 billion in revenue last year—a 14% jump from 2024, according to its owner, Liberty Media. Much of that success has depended on getting fans out of the house and down to the track.

Lights out and away we grow: 2025 was the most-attended F1 season ever, drawing 6.7 million spectators over its 24-race season, which ran from March through December. Per F1:

• Nineteen events sold out.
• Eleven races set new attendance records.
• One race, the British Grand Prix, drew 500,000 fans.

Tickets can be expensive, running hundreds of dollars for multiday passes that include the race and other live entertainment. For example, Road House actor (and singer) Post Malone is set to perform at the United States Grand Prix weekend in Austin, Texas, this October.

It’s a two-way street

Cities and circuits pay F1 millions of dollars in promoter fees for the rights to host races. It’s a steady revenue stream that accounted for about $824 million of F1 earnings in 2025, Sportico reported.

For many cities, it’s worth ponying up for a race, since its economic impact can be worth much more. Per CNBC, the Belgian Grand Prix contributes around $250 million to the country’s economy each year, depending on fans’ appetites for beer and waffles.

The downsides of being global: The war in Iran forced the cancellation of two Middle Eastern races scheduled for next month in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Losing those two races from the schedule could cost F1 about $200 million in revenue, according to a Guggenheim Partners analyst report cited by Sportico.—BC

Every summer since 1938 (yes, even during Covid—it was a whole thing), people on motorcycles have descended onto a tiny South Dakota town to party, listen to whatever Buckcherry-adjacent band is playing, and admire a bunch of bikes. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally attracts about half a million people each August to a town with a population of just 7,000.

If your GeoGuessr skills only work for NYC streets: Sturgis, SD, is about an hour north of Mount Rushmore, and six and a half hours south of the Canadian border by car—a driving distance that is perfectly acceptable to a Midwesterner.

Some of you never had a grandma who dated a guy with a Harley. If you haven’t secured your lodging for this year’s rally, you might be sleeping under a tree. Your options include booking a guesthouse 28 miles away in Rapid City, SD, for nearly triple its normal rate, or trying to nab first-come, first-served tent camping sites that can fill up a week before the rally even starts.

Liquor stores and leather bikini shops do well: The rally (and vendors in the surrounding counties) brought in about $1.6 million in state and local taxes last year, up 13% from 2024, according to the South Dakota Department of Revenue.

But…the overall benefit is nuanced. Former Mayor Kevin Forrester said in last year’s budget proposal that, in recent years, the Rally and Events expenses have consistently exceeded revenue.—MM

An opportunity to worship at a sacred site is one of the biggest motivators for people to travel halfway across the globe and endure hours of physical discomfort navigating chaotic crowds. Religious pilgrimages are among the oldest forms of travel, and cheap airfare has made them some of the planet’s largest mass-migration events.

Every religious movement has its own holy hubs that bring together believers from all corners of the world.

Muslims journey to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the Hajj, arguably the most widely known annual religious pilgrimage and a mandatory lifetime rite for every adult Muslim. The central gathering spot is Mecca’s mosque, where pilgrims collectively circle a stone shrine called the Kaaba, believed to have been built by the main prophet in all Abrahamic religions, Ibrahim, aka Abraham.

Saudi Arabia reaps a windfall as the custodian of Islam’s holiest sites:

• Last year, the Hajj drew over 1.6 million pilgrims, who paid from $5,000 to over $25,000 for tours that include government permit costs, accommodations, transportation, and food.
• Some countries, including Nigeria and Indonesia, subsidize part of the cost of the trip for their citizens.

Hasidic Jews trek to Ukraine…where Uman, a small city about 150 miles south of Kyiv, hosts a religious celebration every September for Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year). Up to 60,000 believers—from Israel, the US, and Europe—pay their respects at the 18th-century tomb of the revered Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, who started the Breslov Hasidic movement. The pilgrimage continued to take place even after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Hindus gather to bathe in the rivers…for the Maha Kumbh Mela festival, held once every four years. Known as the world’s largest human gathering, last year’s festival drew over 660 million people. Sites rotate among four cities located on the banks of the sacred Ganges, Godavari, and Shipra Rivers, where pilgrims partake in purifying bathing rituals and spiritual study.

Catholics flock to Manila, Philippines…for the annual Feast of the Black Nazarene, which revolves around a 30-hour procession with a replica of a sacred 17th-century wooden statue of Jesus, blackened by fire. Almost 10 million devotees walked barefoot alongside the carriage carrying the effigy through city streets last year.

Aside from its spiritual value…religious tourism is a massive industry, generating nearly $290 billion in economic activity as of 2024, per Grand View Research.—SK

Holidays are fun, but eventually, the festive celebrations have to end…unless, of course, you go on a yearlong cross-country holiday road trip that your boss will definitely be fine with.

First, head to Tallapoosa, Georgia, for its annual Possum Drop, which combines the cleansing power of New Year’s Eve with the systematic lowering of a taxidermied marsupial. Next, hit up New Orleans for Mardi Gras, then, for Valentine’s Day, take in Loveland, Colorado, for the Sweetheart Festival. After that, mosey over to Reno, Nevada, for a mid-March leprechaun-themed bar crawl.

When summer starts rolling in, head to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Juneteenth festivities, then work your way north to watch the massive Independence Day fireworks display at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. After that, it’s time to visit:

• Oktoberfest in the Bavarian village of Leavenworth, Washington.
• The official Halloween Capital of the World: Anoka, Minnesota.
• Veterans Day Week in Branson, Missouri.

Then, it’s off to Chicago for a cold Turkey Trot and Thanksgiving parade, before pulling a reverse Planes, Trains and Automobiles and traveling to New York, where you can visit Santa in the small hamlet of North Pole. While you’re there, be sure to pick up an “I’m Sorry” fruitcake for your boss.—BC