People walk past a convenience store with a banner welcoming BTS fans near the venue of the comeback concert of K-pop boy group BTS in downtown Seoul on Mar 21, 2026. (Photo: AFP/Jung Yeon-je)

Tickets to toothbrushes: Can the BTS money-making machine beat Taylor Swift?

Some projections suggest that BTS' world tour could even surpass US megastar Taylor Swift, whose 21-month Eras Tour reportedly generated around US$2 billion (S$2.56 billion) in ticket sales alone.

21 Mar 2026, 08:08 · CNA · Join

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The return of the world's biggest boy band BTS after their almost four-year hiatus looks set to be a major money-spinner – potentially beating Taylor Swift.

Ahead of the K-pop giants' massive comeback concert in Seoul on Saturday (Mar 21) and the start of a world tour, AFP looks at how the mega-group earns money for itself – and others.

“BTS-NOMICS”

Fans of Kpop boy band BTS, members of the fanbase known as ARMY, queue to pay for merchandise at a pop-up store ahead of the band's upcoming free comeback concert, "BTS The Comeback Live Arirang," their first performance in more than three years since completing mandatory military service, in Seoul, South Korea, March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon

Some projections suggest that the 82-date, 23-country tour could even surpass US megastar Swift, whose 21-month Eras Tour reportedly generated around US$2 billion (S$2.56 billion) in ticket sales alone.

Even more than Swift, money comes not just from ticket sales but fans travelling from abroad and spending several days in the cities where BTS play – a phenomenon dubbed "BTSnomics".

Starting in Goyang, South Korea on Apr 9 and ending in the Philippines 11 months later, BTS' tour encompasses 82 shows in 34 cities in 23 countries, including around 30 shows in North America.

"I expect these economic ripple effects to be distributed across all the countries and cities where the performances take place," said Jang Soo-cheong, a tourism professor at Purdue University.

"Given the number of scheduled performances, the massive global fandom including ARMY, and the explosive release of pent-up longing for the group, I judge that this impact will indeed surpass that of 'Taylornomics'," he told AFP.

NETFLIX AND TOURISM

A couple takes a selfie photo near a banner promoting a comeback concert of K-pop group BTS at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Analyst Kim Yu-hyuk of IBK Investment & Securities in Seoul said a "highly conservative" estimate for ticket sales and merchandise from BTS's 82-date tour is at least 2.9 trillion won (US$2 billion).

Six million people could go the shows, Kim estimates.

And BTS may announce more dates next year.

On top of the 260,000 people expected to fill central Seoul on Saturday, Netflix will livestream the concert around the world.

"This is the biggest live musical performance Netflix has ever staged globally," Netflix executive Brandon Riegg said in Seoul on Friday.

The buzz could further increase the current global hunger for almost anything with a Korean flavour, from movies and TV series to books, food and cosmetics.

KPop Demon Hunters – Netflix's most-watched original film – recently won two Oscars and has already significantly helped boost tourism to South Korea.

GLOWSTICKS TO TUNA CANS

A visitor takes a picture of BTS' new album CDs displayed at a BTS pop-up store at Shinsegae Department Store's The Heritage in Seoul on Mar 20, 2026. (Photo: AFP/Jung Yeon-je)

Merchandise – ranging from tuna cans and beauty devices to glow sticks, blankets, clothing and dolls – is also a major generator of cash.

Shinsegae Duty Free said its Myeongdong "K-Wave Zone," which opened in central Seoul in January and sells K-pop-themed goods of multiple artists, is running out of BTS-related products.

Sales of BTS merchandise alone rose about 430 per cent in the week of Mar 13 to 19 from the previous week, it said in statement.

"Key rings sold out the fastest, while toothbrush-and-toothpaste sets – popular with travellers – and disposable bandages also went out of stock," Kim Ji-min, a spokesperson for Shinsegae, told AFP.

"BTS has developed a new economic model for cultural IP (intellectual property), not one particular, but several, such as copyright, trademarks, and design," said Dal Yong Jin, a culture and digital technology professor at Simon Fraser University.

"Their copyright extends to games, comics, music videos," he told AFP.

"In terms of trademarks, the sale of merchandise, including dolls, has been significant."

K-EVERYTHING

BTS fans wait in a line to enter a fan zone promoting the new album of K-pop boy band BTS at a riverside park in Seoul on Mar 20, 2026. (Photo: AFP/Jung Yeon-je)

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported the number of foreign visitors to the country between Mar 1 to 18 this year rose by more than 30 per cent compared with a year earlier.

BTS's agency HybeE cited Hotels.com data showing overseas searches for Seoul jumped 160 per cent within 48 hours of the announcement for the upcoming tour, while Busan – another tour stop – saw a 2,400-per cent surge.

Economically, the group's impact is indeed "measurable in increased tourism to South Korea, the global expansion of K-pop, and spillover effects into industries like K-drama, beauty, cuisine, and fashion," Gi-Wook Shin, a sociology professor at Stanford University, told AFP.

"In many ways, BTS helped catalyse the broader 'K-everything' wave, creating both cultural and economic multiplier effects."

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