BTS embarks on South America tour... First full group concert in Bogotá and expected economic effect of 51.7 billion KRW

BTS is starting their South America tour beginning in Bogotá, Colombia. This tour will take place in a total of five cities with 14 performances, including Lima, Peru; Santiago, Chile; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and São Paulo, Brazil. This is the first time BTS will perform as a complete group in Colombia and Argentina. Two to three days of performances (local time) are scheduled at Estadio El Campín in Bogotá, also announced as taking place on the 3rd and 4th (Korean time). In São Paulo, Brazil, the final city of the South America tour, more than 630,000 people rushed to the FC membership pre-sale on Ticketmaster Brazil over two days. The local economic newspaper Exame estimated that ticket sales for the three shows in São Paulo will reach at least 216.8 million Brazilian reais (approximately 56.4 billion KRW), based on the seating capacity and prices disclosed by Ticketmaster. The Bogotá Tourism Observatory, under the Bogotá Tourism Office, predicted that the consumption scale from the two performances will exceed 99 billion Colombian pesos (approximately 40.6 billion KRW). The Bogotá Economic Development Department estimated the economic ripple effect to be about 126.054 billion Colombian pesos (approximately 51.7 billion KRW), with 5,244 direct and indirect jobs expected to be created. María del Pilar López Uribe, director, evaluated that BTS’s visit could lead to job creation for Bogotá citizens. The economic impact of the three performances in Santiago, Chile, is also drawing attention. According to a study commissioned by the local economic newspaper Diario Financiero to a consulting firm, the economic effect of the Santiago performances is projected to be about 53 million USD (approximately 72 billion KRW). Increased consumption is expected not only from ticket sales but also from transportation, accommodation, food and beverage, and merchandise. In Peru, ahead of BTS’s first visit, the Export and Tourism Promotion Agency highlighted this concert as a representative case of music tourism through a study titled ″Music Tourism and the BTS Effect.″ The waiting list for concert ticket purchases exceeded 521,000, and Lima was highly evaluated as likely to become a major stop on the global tour. At Costa Verde in Lima, the first BTS tribute drone show in South America will be held. This event was realized with over 25,000 participations from ARMYs in Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, and other countries on an online platform. Meanwhile, BTS’s fifth full-length album, Arirang, released last March, ranked 3rd on Spotify’s Weekly Top Albums Global chart (September 25–October 1). The title track ″SWIM″ reached 24th place on the Weekly Top Songs Global chart.