Concert tourism fuels 74% spike in Hanoi travel ahead of BIGBANG shows
VOV.VN - BIGBANG’s upcoming world tour stops in Hanoi have sparked a major travel boom, driving a 74% year-on-year surge in flight bookings to the Vietnamese capital for late October, according to Trip.com data.
Passenger volume for October 23-26 also rose 76% compared to the same period in 2025, contributing to an overall 45% year-on-year increase in travel demand to Hanoi for the month.
The travel platform noted that concert tourism among Vietnamese travelers has grown rapidly in October, propelled by major performances in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Demand for the "BIGBANG 2026-2027 World Tour " at My Dinh Stadium on October 24-25 began climbing after the tour announcement on June 11. The start of presales on August 14 triggered a sharp spike, with flight and hotel bookings jumping sixfold above average daily levels.
Ho Chi Minh City, Seoul, Taipei, Nagoya, Da Nang, and Busan ranked as the top source cities for visitors traveling to Hanoi during the concert weekend.
Fans also planned their trips well in advance. Flights were booked an average of 70 days before departure, with 51% of bookings made over 60 days ahead. Hotel reservations averaged 76 days in advance, with 65% secured more than two months early.
Hotels within a 3-kilometer radius of My Dinh Stadium were fully booked as early as July 29, while overall Hanoi hotel bookings for October 23-24 soared to approximately 15 times the October daily average.
Apart from domestic shows, Vietnamese music fans are increasingly traveling abroad for international performances.
Overseas concert tourism also gains momentum
For The Weeknd's After Hours Til Dawn concert in Bangkok on October 11, travel bookings for October 9-11 exceeded seven times the daily monthly average, with fans booking an average of 72 days ahead, compared to 49 days for typical October trips to Bangkok.
Similarly, The Weeknd's November 4-5 concerts in Kuala Lumpur boosted travel demand for November 2-4 to nearly 22 times the daily average, with travelers booking 95 days in advance.
Meanwhile, the upcoming "BTS World Tour 'Arirang'" is expected to further stimulate regional concert tourism.
Trip.com data shows that 88% of December bookings to Bangkok cluster around December 1-5, ahead of BTS shows on December 3, 5, and 6. Kuala Lumpur saw 91% of December bookings concentrated around December 9-12 for concerts on December 12-13, while Singapore recorded 73% of bookings for December 17-22, coinciding with four scheduled show dates.
Vietnamese fans again booked early, with 49% of December trips to Bangkok and 45% to Singapore secured in September. Lead times reached 112 days for Bangkok and 124 days for Singapore.
Compared to December 2025, travel bookings for December 2026 jumped 1,116% to Bangkok and 696% to Singapore, underscoring the powerful impact of concert tourism on outbound travel.
K-pop boy band Tempest to debut live in Hanoi
VOV.VN - Tempest, a Korean idol group featuring Vietnamese member Hanbin, will delight fans in Hanoi for the first time by appearing at the VPBank K-star Spark in Vietnam concert slated for June 21 at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi.
