Is Taylor Swift saving the economy?

The economy is slowing. Rising interest rates and stubbornly high inflation are squeezing indebted households. And just about every forecast is warning that a recession is looming.

But there is one bright spot — one place where the flashing red lights are shrugged off by an army of consumers perfectly content to spend generously: Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.

"Taylor Swift is a real representative, along with the Eras Tour, of the huge consumer spending power that still exists out there," economist Brett House said.

The professor of professional practice in economics at Columbia Business School in New York, who was previously deputy chief economist at Scotiabank, said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers renovated their homes, spruced up their backyards and gobbled up electronic gadgets. Now, he says, what they crave are experiences.

"I'd say this isn't just about Taylor Swift. This is about the importance of place and being together after a period when we couldn't do so."

House and his niece were able to get coveted floor seats to Swift's recent concert in Detroit. He saw with his own eyes how the performer has tapped into a cultural moment.

"People want to be together, it's meaningful to hear music and be in one place for that experience," House said. "And people are willing to invest in it."

And investing they are.

Cassie Leonhardt travelled from her home in Vancouver to Arizona for the opening night of the tour. She spent $980 on a flight, her hotel cost $590, and her ticket ran her another $550.

She also bought tickets to Swift's Seattle concert, which cost $1,150. She had her eye on more expensive tickets closer to the front, but she just didn't have the cash.

"If I had the capital do it, I probably would drop $6,000," Leonhardt told CBC News. "To have a front-row ticket, it's worth it 100 per cent for me."

All that spending adds up.

And it's not just the stadium, the promoter or even the artist that are cashing in. Leonhardt says she saw crowds of fellow Swifties at the airport and in the hotel lobby looking for local transportation and a place to eat.

The online research group QuestionPro crunched the numbers and found the Eras Tour will generate billions of dollars in economic activity in the United States.