BTS North America World Tour generates $340 million economic impact... HYBE's best quarterly performance

BTS has resumed their world tour, generating significant economic impact in North America, according to foreign media reports. The British Guardian analyzed that BTS’s tour, which includes 16 performances across 7 cities in North America during August and September, along with the ’THE CITY’ project led by HYBE, is maximizing ’BTSnomics.’ In particular, the four consecutive sold-out shows held in Las Vegas in May are estimated to have created an economic effect of approximately $340 million (about 450 billion KRW), benefiting large hotels as well as local small businesses. About 157,000 attendees gathered over two days for the concerts held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, and many fans also visited the nearby Manhattan Koreatown area. Michael Mariano of Tourism Economics stated that considering the average spending of BTS fans, the ripple effect is comparable to or even greater than that of the FIFA World Cup. HYBE recorded sales of 1.45 trillion KRW in the second quarter of this year, becoming the first domestic entertainment company to surpass 1 trillion KRW in sales in a single quarter. This is the largest quarterly performance since HYBE’s founding. The Guardian also highlighted the influence expanding beyond music to overall culture through the ’BTS THE CITY ARIRANG’ project. The Korean Cultural Center in New York hosted K-beauty experiences and lightstick decorating programs, while the ARTE Museum presented media art exhibitions. Korean restaurants and pop-up stores in New York attracted local fans and tourists with Korean dishes favored by the members, such as samgyeopsal, jajangmyeon, and bingsu. Yoon Bora, Visual Arts Officer at the Korean Cultural Center in New York, said, ″K-pop serves as a huge gateway that not only promotes learning the Korean language but also helps discover Korean beauty, food, technology, tourism, and overall culture.″