BTS World Tour Triggers Global Travel Boom as Search Demand Surges Over 3,800 Percent

The announcement of BTS’s upcoming world tour is already sending shockwaves through the global tourism and travel industry, with massive spikes in flight, hotel, and transportation searches across multiple countries.

BTS will kick off their “BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’” on April 9 at Goyang Stadium in South Korea, before heading to 34 cities across North America, Europe, South America, and Asia. The tour will include a total of 82 shows, making it one of the largest concert tours in K-pop history.

Seoul and Busan See Explosive Travel Demand

According to global accommodation platform Hotels.com, international searches for travel to Seoul jumped 155 percent within just 48 hours of BTS announcing their tour.

The growth was even more dramatic for Busan, which will host concerts in June. Searches for Busan surged by a staggering 2,375 percent from overseas users.

Among domestic travelers in South Korea, interest also skyrocketed, with searches increasing 190 percent for Seoul and an astonishing 3,855 percent for Busan.

Asia and Latin America Join the Travel Rush

Interest from other Asian countries was equally intense. Travel searches for Busan from Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan rose by several thousand percent, reflecting the enormous regional demand.

In Brazil, national radio outlet BandNews FM reported that searches for bus tickets to São Paulo, where BTS will perform in October, jumped more than 600 times compared to previous levels.

The surge was based on data from Brazilian ticketing platform ClickBus, which tracks real-time transportation demand.

Global Media Predicts Massive Economic Impact

Major international outlets are already forecasting a historic economic ripple effect.

The UK newspaper The Guardian described BTS’s tour as a global event capable of significantly boosting local economies across multiple continents.

Economists cited in the report said the tour could have a major impact on tourism, accommodation, retail, and food industries in every host city.

Financial services firm Bread Financial added that, on average, a single concert ticket generates more than three times its value in local consumer spending.

However, tourism research firm Tourism Economics noted that BTS far exceeds typical benchmarks.

“These averages do not apply to BTS,” the firm said. “Their economic impact will go far beyond standard projections, and it is difficult to even estimate how large the ripple effect will be.”

BTS Named Top Contributors to Korea’s National Image

Beyond economics, BTS continues to play a major role in promoting South Korea’s global image.

In the Ministry of Culture’s 2025 National Image Survey, BTS ranked No.1 among Koreans who have had the most positive impact on the country’s international reputation.

Jungkook also placed sixth, making him the highest-ranked solo artist on the list.

New Album ‘ARIRANG’ Arrives in March

BTS will release their fifth full-length album “ARIRANG” on March 20 at 1 p.m. KST.

The album features 14 tracks exploring themes of identity, longing, and deep love, and is expected to resonate strongly with global fans ahead of the massive tour launch.