South Korean K-pop group Blackpink on Tuesday announced their return to the National Stadium in Kaohsiung, where they are to hold two concerts on Oct. 18 and 19. With only two weeks remaining until tickets go on sale, accommodation in Kaohsiung is being flooded with an overwhelming number of reservations, and nearly all hotels are already fully booked.
At the Hotel Nikko Kaohsiung — a Japanese-style five-star hotel that opened in November last year — only scenic suites on the upper floors remain available, and prices for those dates have soared to nearly NT$40,000 per night. This is worlds away from the usual weekday rate of about NT$7,000 per night, despite the fact that the hotel is more than 40 minutes away from the concert venue by MRT. This illustrates the powerful spillover effect of the concert economy.
The Kaohsiung City Government last week invited representatives from the four major international entertainment agencies to scout the city for the first time, and rumors have since spread that US pop diva Lady Gaga and others might hold concerts in the city. Lady Gaga last performed in Taiwan 13 years ago. She wrapped up four consecutive concerts at Singapore’s National Stadium last week also following a 13-year absence. Unlike her upcoming tour in July — which includes locations across the US, Europe and Australia — Singapore was chosen as Lady Gaga’s only stop in Asia. As a result, flights and hotel bookings in Singapore doubled, and the increased traffic greatly benefited the restaurant and retail industries. Local media reported that revenue reached S$200 million (US$155million).
Credit card spending data provides clear evidence of the overall economic benefits of hosting concerts in Kaohsiung. According to statistics from Mastercard, when Blackpink held their first concert in Kaohsiung in March 2023, spending on hotels in Zuoying District (左營), where the stadium is located, increased by 50 percent. In neighboring Nanzih District (楠梓), hotel industry revenue surged by an even greater margin of 170 percent.
Concerts are far more than just entertainment — they are powerful catalysts that boost the tourism, transportation, dining and retail industries, allowing vitality to flow into a city’s economy. The planning of transportation routes and crowd flow before and after concerts is a high-intensity test of urban governance. Such events effectively serve as comprehensive assessments of a local government’s physical infrastructure, organization and administrative capabilities, posing a challenge to elected officials.
As Kaohsiung’s concert economy takes off, some have criticized the city’s policy of waiving venue rental and commission fees. However, these critics cannot see the forest for the trees — they are so obsessed with rent and box office revenue that they overlook the widespread business opportunities and benefits to surrounding industries that these events bring.
The Singaporean government last year provided millions of US dollars in subsidies to secure exclusive concert dates by pop icon Taylor Swift. The move attracted fans from all over Southeast Asia, generating US$500 million in economic output in just one week. This reality highlights the outright absurdity in the notion that concerts lead to economic losses. In truth, robust infrastructure and streamlined administrative procedures are key to the success or failure of a city’s concert economy.
Concerts and major international sporting events are the most ideal ways to display a city’s competitiveness. If Taiwan hopes to measure up against major international cities such as Singapore, Seoul and Tokyo, it is time for local governments to take decisive action.
Chen Yung-chang is a freelance writer based in Taipei.
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