Trip.com Group Builds a Bigger Travel Business Around Concerts

Photo Credit: Taylor Swift The Eras Tour Wikimedia Commons / Paolo Villanueva Trip.com Group wants to turn concert trips into longer and more lucrative travel bookings. It is eyeing a move beyond tickets and hotel stays to offer fans everything from local attractions to ground transportation and dining experiences. The company is betting that fans traveling to see their favorite artists are an opportunity to capture more of their overall travel spending, and particularly as major concerts often draw audiences across borders. “Most concertgoers ideally wanted to spend an average of four days at the destination,” said Edison Chen, vice president of destination marketing and strategic alliances at Trip.com Group, at a media briefing in Singapore on Wednesday. A fan flying in for a show can likely also be persuaded to spend a few extra days exploring the destination, said Chen. That creates opportunities for the company to sell attractions, transport and other experiences. The company initially focused on combining con