As part of the record-breaking phenomenon that was The Eras Tour, global superstar Taylor Swift performed at Scottish Gas Murrayfield for three nights in June.
The concerts drew over 200,000 fans to Edinburgh to see her show.
They broke the all-time attendance record for a stadium show in Scotland three times in a row and contributed an estimated £77 million to the economy.
Gig-tripping has become a global travel trend, where visitors plan holidays around attending concerts. With Taylor Swift's arrival long anticipated, there was considerable scope to encourage those coming to the show to extend their stay and explore beyond Edinburgh.
Events of this scope and scale can offer audiences a chance to share memorable experiences. They also help showcase Scotland on the world stage.
We created a blog on our consumer website that imagined what Taylor and her fans might enjoy in Edinburgh and in the surrounding areas of Fife, East Lothian and the Scottish Borders.
This was promoted through our channels and to stakeholders. We saw an increase in traffic to the page in the lead up to the concert dates. This suggested people found the content useful to prepare them for the event. It also hinted at the general appetite for Taylor related content.
Read 13 Taylor Swift inspired trips in and around Edinburgh on visitscotland.com.
We also shared story inspiration for our editorial contacts, called "Scotland’s Travel Guide for Swifties (Taylor’s version)".
This linked destinations in Scotland to the various Taylor Swift's Eras (albums), and included a variety of regions and themes, such as agritourism, outdoor adventure, coorie, and dark skies.
Distributed across relevant markets and sent to partners, such as VisitBritain, it proved useful for any Taylor Swift enquiries.
A US freelance journalist attending The Eras Tour, for example, sought to explore beyond Edinburgh following an enticing itinerary in our travel guide. This itinerary guided her to Perthshire and Inverness, where she enjoyed some new openings, foodie offerings, and unique accommodation.
All of these provided tantalising stories that she could take from for a honeymoon article for BRIDES.
We were also able to broaden the focus of another journalist writing for Forbes (also visiting for Taylor Swift), providing links to an agritourism experience at Swanston Farm.
We answered numerous media enquiries related to the impact Taylor Swift’s tour may have on the tourism industry in Scotland. We also relayed content on our corporate channels. These gathered positive nods regarding our efforts to, wherever possible:
Working with attractions and regions, we supported their initiatives, including the following.
More than 50 local hospitality and tourism businesses came together to collaborate on customised, VIP-like experiences to wow their visitors. This included:
The museum put on a dedicated workshop hosted by local designers, Hayley Scanlan and Andrea Dritschel. Those going to the concert were allowed to make their own friendship bracelets completely for free.
This brought an estimated 300-400 visitors to the workshop and saw the museum’s attendance figures spike by 10.2%.
This celebrated the opening of the museum’s latest exhibition. V&A Dundee worked with designer KellyDawn Riot to create a kimono which represented all of Taylor’s Eras. The final kimono was put on display, leading to:
It was also put on display at Scottish Gas Murrayfield for the entire run of the concerts. And, after the Edinburgh leg of the tour, it was gifted to Taylor Swift herself.
