Swiftonomics: Taylor Swift's arrival in the Netherlands will benefit local economies

The arrival of pop star Taylor Swift for three sold-out shows at the Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam at the start of next month can give the local economy a short, but noticeable boost. Economists have said that the impact on the extensive Dutch economy is limited because people will save on other expenses and because, for example, the money raised from ticket sales will go to Swift's American company.

There is worldwide attention for the impact of Swift's The Eras Tour, which gave the American companies she visited a local economic boost. The United Kingdom also experienced 'Swiftonomics'.

Analysts at Barclays calculated that the concerts in London raised a billion pounds for the British economy. Fellow analysts at TD Securities even warned that this could increase inflation and slow down the British central bank's planned reduction of interest rates. The core inflation suddenly rose in Sweden during the month of May, when Swift held three concerts in Stockholm and the Eurovision Song Contest was organized in Malmo.

Swift's concerts in the Netherlands are predicted to generate an expenditure of 25 to 30 million euros, according to economist Walther Ploos van Amstel from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA). In addition to ticket sales and fan items, this also concerns the turnover at the ArenA and security companies' revenue.

Fans also spend money on transport, food and drinks. "And there will be so many international visitors who make a whole outing of it. If you do not count flight tickets, then it adds up to around 200 euros per day."

A great deal also depends on whether the global star will attract people to the Netherlands who would not have otherwise been in the country, according to Robert Kloosterman, a professor of economic geography at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). That would result in more money being spent in the Netherlands on hotels, food, and drinks, Kloosterman added. He noted that he also missed out on getting a ticket to one of the three shows.

Booking.com saw a rise in the number of bookings in Amsterdam during the concert dates, but would not provide exact numbers. Most bookings were planned by people from Germany, followed by the British and the Americans, a spokesperson said.

Local hotel owners described it as a minimal peak. "The prices are not higher than last year, and there are still a lot of open spots. So thus far, it has been a disappointment," said Pim Evers, chair of the Amsterdam branch of hospitality association KHN.

Several economists think the impact on the Dutch economy as a whole will be limited. "Locally, I expect it to be quite considerable, but nationally, it won't be that much," said Hugo Erken, who heads up the domestic economy analysis team at Rabobank.

Another factor is that the culture and recreation industry is of limited importance to the Dutch economy, according to chief economist Peter Hein van Mulligen of Statistics Netherlands. The sector accounted for 2.4 percent of gross domestic product last year.

ING economist Bert Colijn referred to the fact that the whole European Championships tournament in Germany will only result in an economic boost of 0.1 percent. "And it is also a nonissue for our inflation because our economy is so big, and there is so much more happening."