Since the pandemic, travel has been reinvented. The “slow travel” trend and destinations far from the beaten track are popular. The objective? Avoid overtourism and adopt a more virtuous attitude towards the environment and local populations. To do this, we opt for “dupe destinations”, similar alternatives but cheaper and much less crowded than big cities like Rome, Barcelona, Paris or London.
6 destinations to discover inspired by fiction:
Gig tripping
Recently, a new travel concept has emerged: gig-tripping. The idea? Plan your trip – most often abroad – based on the tour stops of your favorite artists. One way to get tickets to a show already sold out in the city where you live, save money in a city where tickets are sold cheaper or simply combine your love of travel and music into one adventure. “Gig-trippers” are tourists, generally fans, who plan their vacation around one or more concerts in very specific places.
It was the singer Taylor Swift who allegedly started the trend. While concert ticket prices are exploding in some cities, other places are offering much cheaper tickets. You can therefore save hundreds or even thousands of euros by going to less famous cities. We take the opportunity to explore a city that we might not have initially thought of. Moreover, according to Huffpost, Europe could see a profusion of American tourists coming to attend Taylor Swift concerts at a lower cost, from Lyon in France to Gelsenkirchen, in Germany.
Musical tourism
A survey carried out by the travel platform GetYourGuide in 2023 showed that 45% of Americans had chosen their destination because of an event or experience they had heard about, notably a concert. Skyscanner also observes that 60% of Americans were willing to travel abroad to save money on music events. Gig-tripping is not the first travel trend inspired by pop culture. “Set-jetting”, which consists of visiting the filming locations of your favorite films and series, has particularly grown in recent years.
But gig-tripping has the advantage of not only allowing you to obtain tickets to see your favorite artist in concert, but also of immersing yourself in a new city and its emblematic places such as the local stadiums which host the concerts. A way to broaden your horizons, to meet people who share the same interests around the world, and to benefit from the local enthusiasm surrounding the event in question. Above all, we take advantage of the savings made on our tickets to treat ourselves to a trip somewhere. A complete experience rather than a simple concert.
Some disadvantages
Obviously, this saving method is double-edged. The main disadvantage of gig-tripping? The large number of visitors that certain destinations can attract during concert or festival periods. Accommodation and transportation costs then skyrocket due to demand. Crowds, especially in destinations that are not used to receiving so many visitors, can also be a problem. A good way to miss the local culture and history of a city…
Then, there is no point in saving several hundred euros on concert or festival tickets only to end up spending thousands of dollars on flights and accommodation… Before leaving, we calculate what the cost will be. The whole trip is going to cost us.
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