Australia’s Trade Minister is preparing for high-level talks with his Chinese counterpart. They’ll focus on lingering Chinese tariffs on Australian products from wine to lobster.
Restrictions have been lifted on most Australian commodity exports to China, but the biggest economic story in the country this week is all about a different kind of gold rush.
Consider the economic impact of ten Taylor Swift shows in two Australian cities.
First stop: Melbourne — three shows, starting tomorrow.
The Lord Mayor of Melbourne tells the Australian Broadcasting Corporation it will bring more than a billion dollars to the city’s economy.
She said that’s roughly one-third of what all “major events” in the city bring in over an entire year — squeezed into three nights.
The ABC quotes Destination New South Wales as saying Swift's set of shows in Sydney will be about 28% of what major events in that city produce in a year.
There’s also an impact on airline travel.
Qantas and Jet Star expect flights to increase 30% over a year ago into the two cities around the concert dates.
Taylorʻs not even going to Brisbane, but the Brisbane Airport Corporation expects an extra 25,000 people will pass through that airport just on their way to the concerts in Melbourne or Sydney.
There’s even a supply chain impact related to the beads involved in the friendship bracelets that fans commonly wear to her concerts.
And as for tickets? Forget about it. All seven shows over 10 days are already sold out.
