Swift concerts could net Vancouver restaurant industry up to $40M per day

Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour will take over Vancouver in two weeks, and this is set to provide a massive injection into the city’s hospitality industry, to the tune of up to $40 million — per day.

This is according to Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the BC Restaurant and Food Association, who explained that this could be more than 10 times the impact of a Canucks playoff game.

Tostenson says restaurants are expected to be at full capacity across the city for all three days of the show.

He says some are adding incentives for Swifties to visit them, such as special menus and Taylor-themed drinks, for example. But they really don’t have to — in fact, they will likely have to plan for being at full capacity.

“A lot of restaurants are just saying, you know what we have to do, we have to make sure we’re well staffed, we’re well supplied, and we can execute what we have to execute,” he said.

“I think that’s going to be the challenge.”

Tostenson is predicting a massive injection into the local economy, several times the impact of a Canucks playoff game. And he says, after a few tough years and people tightening their belts to deal with rising costs, that’s a blessing for the sector.

“People don’t care. We’re going to go and just do it, and we’re going to spend and we’re not going to really be too managed by our budgets,”

However, Swifties who forked out thousands for tickets and accommodation might be looking for cheap eats as well. And in fact, locals on an Eras Tour Facebook page are warning out-of-towners that there could be long lines at the Costco across the street for pre-concert hot dogs.