In January of this year, we took a deep-dive into concert tourism in Asia, as well as which are the nations to watch with regard to the sector’s growth.

This follow-up to those articles comes at a very interesting time for the Asian concert scene, especially given recent developments.

With South Korean boy-band BTS kicking off a world tour that celebrates their reunion after their mandatory military service, and Japanese pop icons Arashi getting ready to end an era that ran for over a quarter of a century, avid fans are all set to put down serious money on flights, accommodations, and merchandise as they follow their favourites in the hope of seeing them live.

In which case, other than the artists themselves and their management teams, who benefits from these mega-tours?

The quick answer is tourism; the more detailed answer involves the entire ecosystem that revolves around it.

The powerhouse that is BTS

An article published in The Independent last 20th March points out how BTS’ Arirang World Tour will easily rake in US$2.4 billion between the initial stop in Goyang, South Korea on 9th April this year and 14th March 2027 at the Philippine Arena.

Of this, experts say that US$842 million will be earned by the South Korean tourism ecosystem, this massive windfall coming from a significant increase in hotel bookings, train tickets, and even domestic flights heading to whichever tour venue fans will go for.

This massive potential has already made itself palpable: just this weekend, through BTS’ free reunion concert in Seoul, both local and foreign fans surged into the capital, booking stays and flying in to be part of musical history.

Pulling back to see how this impact extends to the global stage, so to speak, interest in major tour stops like Sao Paolo, Brazil and Jakarta, Indonesia has spiked by over 600 percent based on data gleaned by major search engines.

Interestingly, experts staying abreast of the matter say that the abovementioned numbers actually err on the conservative side and could possibly equal, if not completely surpass, the totals reported for Taylor Swift’s Eras World Tour last year, as 41 of the 82 scheduled tour dates are already sold out.

According to IBK Investment & Securities analyst Kim Yu-hyuk, it is entirely possible that BTS will draw in an average of 64,000 attendees to each concert, driving total attendance up to six million.

Another analyst put it as: “"You can probably expect the band to complete up to 100 performances when you consider the yet-to-be-announced concert dates in 2027, pulling in significant revenues from ticket sales and merchandise.”

Arashi’s intimate farewell

In contrast, and considering the length of their heyday, Arashi’s swan song involves a more modest tour: just 15 tour dates covering a six-stop domestic tour.

This smaller scale, however, does not mean that the tour won’t have an impact; far from it: a 19th March report from The Japan Times pointed out how businesses ranging from transportation providers to hotels and ryokans are making adjustments to accommodate the influx of fans making a final pilgrimage of sorts.

Interestingly, the Arashi tour has caused a crisis in accommodations in several major Japanese cities as it coincides with entrance examination season, a period that drives up bookings with hospitality providers located within the vicinity of major colleges and universities, as well as railway trips and domestic flights.

As a result, companies with their own MICE venues or conference centres have converted their halls into dormitory-style accommodations for the influx of both examinees and fans.

Railway company JR Kyushu has come up with an unusual solution to the shortfall in accommodations: trains parked at the main station in Fukuoka will be utilised as overnight accommodation for travellers making their way to the city for the Arashi tour dates.

While rather Spartan in nature, the overnight train offering is seen as a godsend for those travelling to the area who have balked at the way the cost of a room for the night has tripled, even quadrupled in mere weeks.

Another hitch in this case: the fact that tickets for the Arashi farewell tour were actually raffled off to fans resident in Japan and members of the group’s official fan club, thus excluding those overseas.

But, for attraction managers and event specialists, this is seen more as an act of prudence as it makes crowd control easier and, essentially, enables Japan’s longest-running boy-band to share the final chapter of a storied career with the fans who have been with them from the very beginning.

Indeed, economic crises notwithstanding, the spring of 2026 is getting to be a boom-time for concert tourism, and all we need to do at this point is sit back, relax, and enjoy the show as it unfolds.