This group will drive the most travel demand in 2025, according to StubHub

FFor the travel industry, 2024 was the year that live tourism exploded as a runaway economic driver, as millions of travelers planned trips around music concerts, sporting events and natural phenomena like solar eclipses and meteor showers. Americans doubled their international travel to watch live events this year as demand for live events increased 33% worldwide compared to 2023, according to a new report from StubHub.

“The incredible thing about 2024 is the huge impact that live events have had on global tourism – international travel to live events increased by 62% this year, with holidays focused on Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Ohtani and others the World Series and the Copa America,” said Cris Miller, Chief Business Officer of StubHub.

In 2024, Americans overall purchased more tickets to live events outside the country than any other national cohort. With 116 events in 2024, Taylor Swift was the most in-demand artist, followed by Zach Bryan (85 events) and Adele (32 events). This year, more Americans bought tickets to Swift’s Paris shows than any other event outside North America. Swift was the most searched artist on StubHub, drawing three times more interest than the second most searched artist, Coldplay.

The travel industry’s enthusiasm for live events is driven by the industry’s impressive growth. According to a recent report from market research firm Technavio, the global live music market is growing by 17% annually and is expected to grow by another $36 billion by 2028.

No one embodies the live events trend more than Swift, whose $2 billion global Eras Tour wrapped up in Vancouver last weekend. Across the world, Swifties — and often their parents and grandparents — built their vacations around their concerts and galvanized local economies. According to a study by , concertgoers spent an average of $1,300 per show on incidentals—transportation, lodging, food, shopping—above and beyond the cost of tickets Skift.

With the Eras tour now over, StubHub predicts Coldplay will dominate live events in 2025. It remains to be seen whether the Chris Martin-led band can boost the travel industry to the same extent as Swift’s tour, which had tourist destinations outdoing each other to offer special packages and airlines adding flights to meet demand. In a promising sign, buyers from 148 countries bought tickets to Coldplay’s tour this year, and more Americans flocked to see the band in Rome and Athens than to any other concert outside of Swift’s Eras Tour. Looking ahead to 2025, the final year of the three-year Music of the Spheres World Tour, Coldplay is outselling the next best-selling experience, Oasis, by almost four times on StubHub.

Next year will be a big one for the legacy bands, according to StubHub, with runner-up Oasis outselling the Eagles in ticket sales by almost 60%. The Manchester band announced in August that the long-feuding Gallagher brothers would put aside 15 years of grudges to embark on a reunion tour in 2025 that will include performances at Chicago’s Soldier Field and New York City’s MetLife Stadium.

Based on ticket sales in 2025, the Eagles will take third place on the list. The legendary 1970s country-rock band, also known for past feuds, will continue their performance at The Sphere in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Nos. 4 and 5 are two more legacy acts – Metallica and My Chemical Romance.

At number 6, the best-selling sporting event of 2025 is likely to be WrestleMania 41, which will take place in April at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. EDue to early ticket sales for SuperBowl LIX, which takes place in New Orleans in February, the game only landed in 9th place.

At No. 7 on the world’s top-selling female artists for events in 2025 is 25-year-old Sabrina Carpenter, who StubHub also identifies as the No. 1 emerging artist and No. 1 pop star of 2025.

Rounding out the top 10 live events in 2025 are Zach Bryan at No. 8 and Bruce Springsteen at No. 10.