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Live music fans take 38 percent more trips

Live music fans are some of the world’s most active travelers. New research across thirteen countries found that they took 38 percent more trips in the past year than other travelers. Those trips included vacations, work, cultural getaways, sporting events and live music.

The research spans the full live music calendar, including concerts, tours, festivals, and residencies. As artists move between cities and countries, fans build travel around where and when they can see them. Nearly 7 in 10 plan trips around tour dates and festival lineups, and almost 6 in 10 plan family vacations around live music trips. When choosing where to see a show, 78 percent say the artist or lineup matters more than the location.

A concert can set the date for a trip, introduce fans to a city and give them a reason to return. When an artist announces a tour, fans start looking at dates, cities and flights. They decide quickly, often choosing whether to attend within a week of hearing about the show. The ticket usually comes first, and the rest of the trip takes shape around it. That order can introduce fans to places they had never considered visiting. Nearly 7 in 10 have traveled somewhere they would not otherwise have visited because of a concert or festival. For 91 percent, live music played an important role in their first visit to a destination.

That influence crosses borders. Nearly 2 in 3 fans have traveled to another city or country for live music. Some follow a global tour to the stop that works for them. Others use a festival or residency as the reason to experience a place for the first time. In Belgium, 73 percent of fans have crossed an international border specifically to attend a live music event.

Artists have become a powerful source of travel inspiration. A single tour announcement can put a new city on someone’s radar, inspire an international trip or bring friends from several places together in a destination none of them would have chosen on their own. That influence is particularly strong in Thailand, Mexico and Ireland, where more than 7 in 10 fans say live music has taken them somewhere new.

Fans tend to build several days of travel around a show, with 87 percent staying for more than one night. Nearly 3 in 4 venture beyond the host city to explore nearby towns, another major destination or somewhere across the border. Along the way, they meet up with friends arriving from different places, work remotely to extend their stay and turn a single event into a longer, multi-stop trip. Each extra day brings another meal, hotel night, ride, activity or purchase. Fans spend 40 percent of their live music travel budget on the event and 60 percent on the rest of the trip. Food, flights and accommodations are the areas where they are most willing to spend.

Spending also begins well before the trip. 86 percent buy something in advance, including clothing, footwear, luggage, portable technology, beauty products and travel insurance. That spending reaches airlines, hotels and destinations, as well as banks, payment providers, restaurants, retailers, beauty brands, mobility services and technology companies. Each one has a role to play in the journey surrounding the show.

Live music gives fans a reason to discover a place. Their experience there can give them a reason to return. 3 in 4 have gone back to a destination they first visited for a concert or festival, rising to 89 percent among fans in Thailand. Nearly 7 in 10 have returned several times because of a recurring festival, residency or live music event. A fan may arrive for an artist and find a favorite restaurant, neighborhood, beach or hotel. The next visit may center on another show, a vacation with friends or a completely different reason.

That pull is especially strong around festivals. Fans return year after year for camping events like Sweden Rock, Rock Werchter and Rhythm & Vines. But the pattern is not limited to the campsite. Three in five fans traveling to Las Vegas for EDC have attended before, making the city part of a tradition that extends well beyond a single weekend. For destinations, this creates a chance to turn a concert weekend into a lasting relationship. One night of live music can keep a city on someone’s travel list for years. 

Even when interest is high, turning a show into a trip requires fans to coordinate several parts of the experience, from travel and accommodations to timing and group plans. Accommodation is the number one consideration for fans deciding whether to travel for live music, with 88 percent factoring it into their plans. Proximity remains a challenge, with 71 percent struggling to find somewhere to stay near the venue.

Fans are looking for practical help. They want transportation to and from the event, relevant hotel recommendations, flexible ways to pay and support when plans change. They also want tickets, travel and accommodations to work together. Many are willing to reconsider their usual travel brands in exchange for that support: 44 percent would consider switching airlines; 40 percent would change booking platforms; 36 percent would consider another hotel brand; 33 percent would change home-rental companies. Helping with one trip can open the door to the next one. Fans say they would also consider brands that supported their live music trip for future vacations and work travel.

Live Nation conducted the research to understand the full journey surrounding live music, from the moment an artist announces a show to the trips, purchases and return visits that follow. “Live music puts places on people’s maps”, says Russell Wallach, Live Nation’s global president of media and sponsorship. “A fan may arrive for one artist and leave with a new favorite city. One show can inspire an entire trip and create a reason to return for years.”

Live Nation’s 2026 global travel study included 3,300 total respondents and examined travel connected to concerts, tours, festivals, and residencies. The study consisted of live music fans, defined as people who had attended a concert or music festival within the past twelve months, and the general population, a representative sample of the country.

Live Nation conducted qualitative research from April 9-15, 2026, among fans ages 18-54, with fifty participants in each of six countries: Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The quantitative phase was fielded from May 7-14 among fans ages 18-64, with 400 participants in the United States and 150 in every other country surveyed; and among people ages 18-64 for a general population comparison, with 200 in the US and 50 in every other country.

www.livenationentertainment.com

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