Take advantage of events to stimulate consumption

VTV.vn - Many countries, or even localities and tourist destinations, have invested heavily to attract events to their shores.

South Korea expects to boost tourism from APEC conference

At the end of October, an event that is attracting the attention of the whole world is the APEC Summit that will take place in Korea. Not only will high-level talks and economic initiatives be mentioned, but this conference is also considered a great opportunity for tourism activities in the venue - the ancient city of Gyeongju.

Nearly 2,000 years old and the capital of a great dynasty, Gyeongju is now considered one of Korea's top destinations for historical and cultural relics. Last year, the city attracted more than 42 million domestic and foreign tourists. Consumer services in Gyeongju have also seen an increase in foreign customers in recent years. City officials and residents are raising high expectations for the opportunity to promote the city as an international destination after this APEC Summit.

Mr. Kim Young-Hwan - Restaurant owner in Gyeongju said: "I feel very proud that many world leaders will come to Gyeongju. This is Korea's top historical site, which has attracted many tourists every year."

Mr. Joo Nak-Young - Mayor of Gyeongju City shared: "Gyeongju deserves to be called the Rome or Athens of Korea, with its rich myths and legends. If diverse tourism and cultural infrastructure is developed, I believe the City will become a world-class tourist center."

The story of Gyeongju is just one of many examples of countries, localities or tourist destinations that are looking to take advantage of economic, consumption and tourism opportunities from hosting major events. If we look at the effectiveness of some recent cultural, entertainment and sports events, this ambition is not without foundation.

Over the past year, a phrase that has become familiar to many major international newspapers is "Swiftonomics". This phrase refers to the trend of sharply increasing consumer revenue such as food and accommodation services at places where American music star Taylor Swift holds concerts. A study by Mastercard shows that, in the US alone, sales of restaurants around Taylor Swift's concert venues increased by an average of 68%, while those of accommodation increased by more than 47%.

A closer example is in neighboring Southeast Asian country Singapore. Since 2008, the Lion City has been one of the venues for the Formula 1 World Championship. And according to Singaporean officials, the F1 race has brought up to 720,000 visitors and economic benefits totaling about $1.7 billion to the country.

Countries invest in attracting events to boost consumption

In China, not only do they take advantage of opportunities provided by hosting events such as international sports tournaments, but many localities in the country have turned the events into part of a systematic campaign to stimulate consumer spending, thereby creating momentum for local economic growth.

694 million yuan, equivalent to 97 million USD - is the sports-related consumption revenue that Wuhan City, Hubei Province has earned since September. This figure increased 30% compared to the same period last year thanks to a series of exciting international sports events held locally such as the 2025 Wuhan Women's Tennis Open.

Taking advantage of these sporting events, Wuhan has also launched a series of consumer stimulus activities, including the Wuhan Festival and the distribution of 10 million yuan worth of vouchers for sports-related activities. The sports product promotion events have attracted more than 1.9 million visitors.

Ms. Wu - Tennis fan confided: "Attending tennis matches not only allows us to cheer for our favorite athletes, but also gives us the opportunity to learn about various products that we are interested in. There are also interactive games related to tennis, which makes for a very interesting experience."

Meanwhile, in Shanghai, the 2025 International Extreme Sports Festival took place in mid-October, attracting a large audience. In addition to sports activities, the event also featured games, food services, and fairs, bringing together more than 220 brands, contributing to creating a complete "sports and lifestyle" consumer ecosystem.

Mr. Chen Anda - Deputy General Manager, Shanghai West Bund Development Company commented: "Thanks to the organization of the competition and the rich series of cultural, commercial, sports and tourism activities throughout the autumn, this area has truly become an ideal destination where culture, tourism, commerce, sports and exhibitions blend perfectly."

Another strategy adopted by many localities in China is the ticket stub economy model, in which ticket stubs for sports and entertainment events can also be used to receive discounts at restaurants, shopping malls and tourist attractions.

"It feels like I'm at a festival. I came here to see a concert, but I also got to explore new places to eat and shop, and visit museums for free," said one female visitor.

Data from travel service platforms shows that an event ticket under this model not only helps visitors save an average of 15 to 30% of costs, but also stimulates secondary spending 1.5 to twice the ticket price. This will be an effective solution for businesses to increase the number of loyal customers and maximize the economic potential of events.

Many countries, or even localities and tourist destinations have invested heavily to attract events to their country. Not only investing to attract events, but also investing to maintain regular and continuous organization to bring the highest economic efficiency. As with the "ticket stub economy" model in China, after the successful lesson from the amateur football tournament in Jiangsu province, 9 other provinces and cities in this country have also organized annual provincial amateur football tournaments combined with consumer stimulus programs.

Back in Singapore, last year the country announced an exclusive deal with singer Taylor Swift, making it the sole Southeast Asian stop for the American star's The Eras Tour for an undisclosed sum. Singapore also spends more than $100 million a year on its annual Formula 1 Grand Prix, 60% of which is funded by the government.

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in the UK last June caused the country's inflation rate to spike to 5.7%.

The downside of promoting consumption through events

However, investments in organizing events cannot always bring great success. Besides the effectiveness in tourism and consumption, the "event economy" also has the potential to have negative impacts on local economic activities.

Many restaurant owners and taxi drivers in Paris, France, were expecting a huge influx of tourists to boost summer business during the 2024 Olympics. Instead, they are seeing their businesses become significantly more difficult.

Mr. Alain Fontaine - President of the French Restaurant Owners Association said: "Restaurant revenue in Paris has decreased by 20-30%. Areas near stadiums have decreased by 60-80%. For example, my restaurant has also lost about 21% during this time."

Taxi driver Lamia Toukabri said: "A large number of taxis were mobilized because we expected a large number of tourists. But it turned out that the number of tourists was much lower, I lost 40-50% of my revenue, not enough to break even."

Despite high expectations, the hosting of the Olympics has not been a significant boost to economic and consumer activity in the City of Light. According to experts, although the Olympics attracted a certain number of new tourists, this was offset by a decrease in the number of regular tourists, who avoided Paris during the event. This is also the group that regularly spends on consumer services in the City.

Some recent major sporting events have also shown that the economic boost is not as high as expected. For example, the Euro 2024 football championship in Germany is estimated to bring in about 7.4 billion euros in revenue and a short-term growth of 0.1% - not too big a number for Europe's number one economy. Meanwhile, many events require huge initial investment and can create a long-term burden on the economy. The lesson of the 2004 Athens Olympics, which plunged Greece into a sovereign debt crisis, is a prominent example.

Even if the event economy does provide a boost to consumption and tourism, experts warn that other impacts must be taken into account, especially the pressure on prices. A typical example is the fact that Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour in the UK last June caused the country's service price inflation to skyrocket to 5.7% - a phenomenon that has been described by the press with the phrase "Swiftflation" - or "Taylor Swift inflation".

Source: https://vtv.vn/tan-dung-su-kien-de-kich-thich-tieu-dung-10025102811205236.htm