K-pop fans cross borders to see live shows, reshaping Asia's tourism map

Trip.com report analyzes concert travel trends

Travel patterns follow artists across Asia

Singapore respondents rank South Korea as top destination

65% of fans in 6 Asian markets have traveled abroad for a concert

The enthusiasm of Asian K-pop fans for seeing their favorite artists perform live is driving cross-border tourism to South Korea. Sixty-five percent of concertgoers across six Asian markets said they had traveled to another country or region to attend a performance. With 63 percent of respondents choosing five-star hotels and hoping to stay at least three nights, the trend toward high-value, extended stays tied to concert tickets is becoming increasingly pronounced.

Trip.com Group, which operates the online travel platform Trip.com, said Thursday that K-pop artists and fan culture are fueling demand for travel to South Korea, citing a report it co-published with Live Nation Asia.

The report, titled "The Concert Travel Effect in Asia," draws on survey data from six markets — South Korea, mainland China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao and Thailand — as well as Trip.com Group's travel data and insights from Ticketmaster, to analyze how concerts influence destination choices and trip planning.

65% of respondents have traveled abroad for a concert

According to the report, live performances have become one of the key motivators drawing international fans to South Korea. Seventy-three percent of Thai respondents said they would be willing to visit South Korea to see a favorite artist perform, and about one in five respondents from Thailand and Hong Kong said they had already visited South Korea for a concert. South Korea also ranked as the top destination Singapore respondents would most likely visit for a music concert. Beyond attending K-pop performances, fans across Asia said they travel to South Korea to fully immerse themselves in fan communities and culture.

The appetite for concert travel was evident across the region. Sixty-five percent of respondents across the six Asian markets said they had traveled to another country or region to attend a concert, and seven in 10 said live music was one of the most compelling reasons to travel. The biggest factors fans consider when choosing a destination for a music concert were airfare (67 percent) and travel distance (57 percent). In addition, 41 percent of fans said their fan community was central to the concert experience, and 57 percent cited sharing the travel experience on social media as a key element.

Among South Korean respondents, 55 percent said they had traveled abroad to attend a concert, and 69 percent said traveling for a live music performance was particularly meaningful. One in two South Korean respondents said they would be willing to visit Hong Kong or Macao to see a favorite artist perform. The top factor South Korean respondents cited when planning concert travel was securing tickets (52 percent), followed by affordable flights and transportation (41 percent) and accommodation near the venue (38 percent). The findings suggest that securing a ticket serves as the starting point for trip planning, with logistics and lodging then shaping the specifics of the itinerary.

Concerts as the catalyst for a full trip

Demand is growing not just for the concert itself but for planning an entire trip around it, fueling interest in bundled packages. Trip.com Group's ticket package bookings rose 64 percent in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, reflecting the growth of products that combine concerts with travel. Sixty-three percent of all respondents across the six markets chose five-star hotels and said they wanted to stay a minimum of three nights. The most preferred add-ons in a package were hotel accommodation (70 percent) and flights (69 percent), followed by attraction tickets or activities (28 percent).

Among South Korean respondents, 76 percent expressed interest in packages combining concerts with travel products, and one in three said they had used Trip.com when booking a trip to attend a concert abroad.

Bo Xun, chief marketing officer of Trip.com Group, said experience-driven travel is becoming an increasingly important factor in how people choose when and where to go, and that live music is a powerful force shaping the destinations fans seek out.

James Dick, senior vice president of partnership and media at Live Nation Asia, said fans come to a city to see an artist, but they also stay, eat and explore while they are there. "A single concert can be the start of an entire trip," he said.

terry@heraldcorp.com