When a major celebrity has a concert in Australia it is often met with a significant boost in local tourism – and at times causes chaos with flight surges and booked-out hotels.
Take Taylor Swift for example. The 35-year-old billionaire had a massive influence on travel during her weeks-long stay in 2024, with commercial flights and accommodation being at a premium.
Some fans even opted for a private charter to get to her concerts as a result.
It was a similar vibe when Coldplay toured the east coast of Australia in November last year. There was an 8 per cent increase on the prior year for flight and hotel bookings to Melbourne and a 36 per cent increase on the prior year for flight and hotel bookings to Sydney.
Lady Gaga is no different. The mega pop star is currently in Australia for her long-awaited Mayhem Ball tour with fans waiting more than 10 years for her arrival.
She’s already played shows in Melbourne and Brisbane with Sydney (this Friday and Saturday), being the last city of her Aussie leg.
Some of the countries’ biggest travel booking platforms have revealed just how much of an impact she’s had on accommodation and flights.
Airbnb
According to Airbnb, searches for Sydney during Gaga’s concert dates are up 178 per cent compared to the same period of time last year.
“Domestic fans are travelling to Sydney from places as far as Brisbane, Adelaide and even Perth while road-trippers are coming in from Newcastle, the Illawarra and Far South Coast and international fans are flying in from the UK, New Zealand and the US,” Susan Wheeldon, Country Manager for Airbnb, Australia and New Zealand, told news.com.au.
Booking.com
Booking.com has also seen a strong uplift in domestic accommodation searches – with November searches in Sydney increasing 75 per cent over the period of her concert weekend.
This follows a similar effect from earlier in the year, when Aussie travellers became the top inbound group searching for accommodation for her Singapore shows.
“When a global superstar like Lady Gaga touches down, the travel industry feels the mayhem,” Booking.com’s regional manager for Oceania, Todd Lacey said.
“The significant uplift in accommodation searches on Booking.com across Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane directly illustrates the effect major cultural events play in casting a spell on Australian domestic travel demand.”
In Melbourne, searches jumped 90 per cent, also ranking first nationally for the weekend of December 5 to 7, aligning with Gaga’s two shows this Friday and Saturday (placing Melbourne up one place from second spot the same time last year).
Meanwhile, Brisbane searches grew 70 per cent, placing the city fourth nationwide for stays over her midweek concert date of December 9 to 11.
Mr Lacey said with searches increasing as high as 75 per cent for Sydney and a staggering 90 per cent for Melbourne during Mother Monster’s concert weekends, “these blockbuster events are clearly must-attend motivators for a diverse audience of Aussie travellers”.
“This trend reinforces our broader Booking.com Travel Trends research, which shows over a third of Aussie travellers are planning event travel solely for a music festival or concert.”
Flight Centre
James Kavanagh, Flight Centre travel group leisure CEO said hosting major events and celebrated artists offers a great boost to local tourism “and Lady Gaga’s visit to Australia for her ‘The Mayhem Ball’ tour is no exception”.
“The good news is that there are still ample accommodation options available and flights to and from Sydney across carriers for anyone who is yet to book or finds themselves in the lucky predicament of scoring a last-minute ticket to either show,” he told news.com.au.
Expedia
All the major platforms emphasised tour announcements continue to be a major travel trigger for music lovers – including Expedia.
“After Lady Gaga’s Sydney show was announced in April, her first in 11 years, accommodation interest for the concert weekend surged by 340 per cent on Expedia,” Expedia’s travel expert, Sarah King, told news.com.au.
“It’s another example of Tour Tourism, a trend Expedia identified in 2023, where fans plan entire getaways around live performances.
“From local stays to cross-country flights, the ripple effect of a tour drop is reshaping how and where people travel.”
She said for Gaga fans heading to Sydney for the concert, there is still accommodation available from around $350 per night.
“Sydney Olympic Park is an obvious choice for its proximity to the venue, but Parramatta or the Sydney CBD are good value alternatives, especially if you want to make a full weekend of it.”
