"Who run the world? Girls." 

The recent economic surge witnessed in Santa Clara thanks to Taylor Swift's "Era's Tour" at Levi's Stadium was nothing short of impressive. Following suit, anticipation is building around the positive impact Beyoncé's upcoming "Renaissance Tour” on August 30th, 2023, will likely bring to Santa Clara's financial landscape.

With demand skyrocketing for tickets to these shows, both tours have exerted a considerable influence on the local economies of the cities they have visited.

In an interview with ABC, Christine Lawson, the CEO of Discover Santa Clara shared Taylor Swift's undeniable influence on the local economy.

"Weekend demand tends to be slower in the summer months for Santa Clara hotels, so the timing of Taylor Swift's show at Levi's Stadium is very beneficial to the city, where we have seen rates up to 50% higher than typical weekend rates for the month of July," Lawson said. "Additionally, we anticipate significant growth in ancillary revenues at our hotels and throughout the city, as enthusiastic fans, known as 'Swifties,' explore Santa Clara and indulge in our vibrant culinary scene, great shopping, and leisure activities."

According to Dan Rascher, the president of Sports Economics, LLC, an expert in assessing the economic aspects of sports events and concerts, he informed local news outlet San José Spotlight that a crowd of 60,000 devoted Swift fans filled the stadium on July 28-29 for Swift's Eras Tour.

“That leads to a total economic impact of around $33.5 million,” Rascher said. “That money gets re-spent in town over time, and that usually takes a few months.”

Similarly to Swift, just as a radiant star illuminates the sky, Beyoncé's presence in a town transcends mere celebrity; it’s a transformative force with positive impact on various establishments, ranging from restaurants to beauty salons. By analyzing search trend data, Yelp was able to identify the types of businesses that garnered the most attention during the Renaissance Tour.

In Philadelphia, there was a 21% surge in searches for hotels and travel, a 10% increase in shopping-related searches, a 30% rise in restaurant-related searches, and a 9% uptick in searches for beauty services during the week of July 6-12 (Beyoncé's Philadelphia tour stop took place on July 12). These figures were in comparison to the weekly average of searches during the same period in the previous year.

Although it's still too early to gauge the exact economic influence that Beyoncé will bring to the City of Santa Clara, if history is any indication from her previous city visits, Santa Clara stands to benefit significantly from her presence in terms of its economy.

So, Santa Clara, get into “Formation” — the Queen is coming to town, and she’s here to make it rain.

By Ben Landis | Marketing Manager