BTS Concerts Shake South American Economic Landscape — 51.7 Billion Won in Bogotá, 72 Billion Won in Chile

BTS's South American world tour is going beyond simple large-scale concerts and is shaking the economic landscape of local cities. As an increasing number of fans travel across borders to watch the performances, the so-called "BTS economic effect"—where consumption spreads to aviation, accommodation, transportation, dining, and tourism, as well as concert-related merchandise and local service industries—is appearing in concrete figures.

BTS will kick off the South American leg of the "BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’" on the 2nd and 3rd (local time) at Estadio El Campín in Bogotá, Colombia. They will then visit Lima, Peru, Santiago, Chile, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and São Paulo, Brazil, in succession, holding a total of 14 performances across five cities. As the itinerary traverses major South American cities, attention is focused not only on ticket sales for the performances themselves but also on secondary consumption arising from the stay and movement of visitors.

In Bogotá, the first host city, the projected economic impact has already been upwardly revised. Initially, the tourism observatory under the Bogotá Tourism Office expected the scale of consumption generated by the two performances to exceed 99 billion Colombian pesos, approximately 40.6 billion won. Subsequently, the Bogotá Secretariat of Economic Development raised the projection to approximately 126.054 billion Colombian pesos, or about 51.7 billion won. It is also projected that the number of jobs created directly and indirectly through this occasion will reach 5,244.

This demonstrates that the economic effect of large-scale performances is not determined solely by ticket sales. This is because audiences visiting the venues stay in the area for several days, using hotels and restaurants, consuming transportation, and visiting tourist attractions and shopping facilities, causing the performance to ripple through the overall local economy. María del Pilar López Uribe, the Director of Economic Development for Bogotá, also emphasized that BTS's visit could influence job creation for local residents beyond just the performances.

This Bogotá performance also holds symbolic significance as the first stage where BTS meets Colombian fans as a full group. Argentina will also welcome the first full-group performance by BTS through this tour. This serves as an opportunity to simultaneously confirm the demand for global artist performances and tourism demand in a new region, moving beyond mere performances targeting the existing fandom.

A similar phenomenon is occurring in Chile. According to an analysis commissioned by the local economic media Diario Financiero to a consulting firm, the economic effect of the three performances to be held in Santiago on the 14th and 16th–17th is estimated at approximately 53 million dollars, or about 72 billion won. It was analyzed that concert revenue will connect to consumption throughout the city as ticket sales are added to the movement, accommodation, dining, and purchase of related goods by the audience.

In Peru, the "BTS effect" appeared in even more specific numbers even before the performances were held. The PROMPERÚ, a government agency under the Peruvian government, analyzed this performance as a case where a large-scale music event connects to the tourism industry through a study titled "Music Tourism and the BTS Effect" (Turismo musical y el efecto BTS). In particular, it was tallied that the number of people waiting to purchase tickets for the Lima performance exceeded 521,000. This can be interpreted as an indicator of not only interest in the performance but also the potential demand of the city to attract future global artist tours.

The movement of the local fandom is also massive. At Costa Verde in Lima, a tribute drone show for BTS will be prepared. As the first BTS tribute drone show held in South America, ARMY from various countries, including Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Colombia, participated through online platforms. The number of participations gathered to make the event possible exceeded 25,000.

In São Paulo, Brazil, the final city of the tour, the competition surrounding tickets was even more intense. According to Ticketmaster Brasil, more than 630,000 people flocked to the fan club membership pre-sale for the São Paulo performances over two days. The local economic media Exame estimated that the ticket sales for the three performances alone would amount to at least 216.8 million reais, or approximately 56.4 billion won, based on the seat capacity and prices presented by Ticketmaster.

The figures appearing in each city—the expected 50 billion won-range economic impact in Bogotá, the projected 70 billion won-range economic effect in Chile, the ticket waiting list exceeding 520,000 in Peru, and the pre-sale where 630,000 people flocked in Brazil—point to a single phenomenon despite their different forms. It means that BTS's performances are no longer content consumed only inside the concert hall, but are expanding into a cultural industry that stimulates tourism and consumption activities of entire cities through the movement and stay of fans.

This phenomenon aligns with the recent growth trend of "music tourism," where music and tourism combine in the global performance market. As more fans undertake long-distance travel to see specific artists, hosting performances is being evaluated as an industrial asset that simultaneously boosts a city's cultural recognition and tourism demand. BTS's South American tour is noteworthy in that it is a case where this change is manifested in actual consumption, employment, and tourism figures.

While interest surrounding BTS outside the stage is leading to economic figures, another debate is ongoing in the music industry. After the Grammy Awards announced last June that they would establish a "Best Asian Pop Music Performance" category targeting Asian music from regions such as Korea, China, and Japan, BTS expressed a position to the effect of "hoping that music can be heard and loved as music itself rather than being divided by region or language" and announced they would not submit works to the 69th Grammy Awards. As it was subsequently revealed that Stray Kids also did not submit, the debate surrounding the "Asian Pop" category is spreading again.

As BTS's influence on the world stage expands beyond concert halls and charts to city economies and the tourism industry, attention is also focused on how much economic impact this South American tour will actually leave.