Back-to-back K-pop mega tours are turning Taiwan into a travel destination for fans across Asia. International accommodation searches to Taipei rose 38% around BIGBANG's three Taipei Dome concerts in October, and searches to Kaohsiung for BTS's November shows have grown 3.6 times, according to data released by travel platform Agoda on October 31, 2026.
Both figures compare searches for the concert dates with searches two weeks earlier. BTS will bring its ARIRANG world tour to Kaohsiung National Stadium, in Taiwan's southern port city, on November 19, 21, and 22.
Japanese Fans Lead the Rush for Concert Trips
Agoda said travelers from Japan showed the sharpest jump. Japanese accommodation searches to Taipei for the BIGBANG dates were more than six times higher than two weeks before, and Japanese searches to Kaohsiung for the BTS dates rose 14.3 times.
The Philippines produced the largest volume of searches for Kaohsiung during the BTS shows, up nearly three times, followed by Japan, Singapore (8.4 times), Hong Kong (2.2 times), and Thailand (1.9 times). For BIGBANG's Taipei shows, the top source markets were Japan, the Philippines (up 19%), Thailand (up 89%), South Korea (up 30%), and Singapore (up 29%).
"International fans are looking beyond Taipei, with more international performances taking place in Kaohsiung," said Jishan Chai, Agoda's country director for Taiwan. "A concert can also be the starting point for exploring a city."
BIGBANG's Taipei Dome Run Came With a City Spending Push
BIGBANG played the Taipei Dome from October 9 to 11 as part of its 2026 to 2027 World Tour, XX: COSMOS, which marks the group's 20th anniversary. All three nights used real-name ticketing, which requires every fan to show a valid ID matching the ticket, a system Taiwanese promoters have adopted to fight scalping.
G-Dragon arrived the night before the first show on a private jet at Taipei's downtown Songshan Airport, where more than 50 fans had waited about three hours. He was visible for roughly four seconds before getting into a waiting car. Bandmates Taeyang and Daesung flew in separately on Korean Air.
The Taipei City Government used the concerts to steer fans into local businesses. Ticket holders who registered their tickets on the city's TaipeiPASS app between October 8 and 18 received NT$600 (about US$19) in vouchers, split equally among shopping districts, night markets, and traditional markets and valid until November 8, plus entry into a draw for round-trip flights for two within Asia. The city also offered a NT$20 transit rebate to fans who left the metro at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station, next to the dome.
Kaohsiung Bets on Stadium Shows to Draw Foreign Spending
Kaohsiung has spent several years building what local officials call a concert economy. The city government says concerts have generated an estimated NT$18.9 billion in tourism output since 2023, including 157 concerts and 1.71 million attendees in 2024 alone.
Foreign visitors spend heavily when they come. An analysis by Taiwan's National Credit Card Center of concert-related spending in Kaohsiung from 2023 to 2025, cited by Agoda, found that international visitors made up 3.85% of attendees at shows by foreign artists, compared with 2.20% for local acts, and spent an average of NT$8,772 per card on accommodation, about twice as much as domestic visitors.
The city's transit system has already been tested by K-pop crowds. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai said the metro carried 350,000 riders in a single day during TWICE's two stadium concerts in November 2025.
More K-pop Stadium Dates Are Coming to Taiwan
The pipeline extends into next year. BIGBANG will return for two nights at Kaohsiung National Stadium on February 27 and 28, 2027, with tickets priced from NT$2,980 to NT$9,430. The stadium is reported to be fully booked for 2026.
For Taiwan, which has long struggled to draw international tourists beyond Taipei, the BTS shows offer a test of whether a single weekend of K-pop can send foreign visitors south, and keep them there long enough to spend money beyond the stadium.
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