Hundreds and thousands of Taylor Swift fans have taken over the internet this week in a race to secure tickets to her Australian tour.

And, it wasn’t just the ticket agents who were experiencing a spike in demand either.

Searches and bookings for hotels in Sydney and Melbourne shot up in throughout Wednesday.

Hilton Hotels saw an astronomical increase in hotel bookings around her tour dates:

• Hilton Sydney – booking volume went up by 1129% after the tour announcement
• Hilton Melbourne – booking volume went up by 9400% after the tour announcement

This month, Webjet has also reported a spike in searches for domestic flights to Sydney and Melbourne around the tour dates:

• A 282% increase in searches for domestic flights to Sydney on 22nd February – 25th February 2024 in June compared to searches in May
• A 151% increase in searches for domestic flights to Melbourne on 15th February – 17th February 2024 in June compared to searches in May

Airfares reflect the sudden surge in demand for tickets to the concerts in both Sydney and Melbourne.

Travel Weekly Australia carried out a search to find out how ticket prices for dates around her Sydney show compare to those a week before or a week after.

It’s important to point out that the airfares may be more expensive as cheaper one’s have already been purchased and doesn’t necessarily mean airlines have increased their prices.

To make sure the comparisons were consistant, we took the cheapest direct airfare from the origin that would get a passenger to Sydney well ahead of the concert start time. Flights departing at the same or similar time were used for the weekends before and after the concert dates.

In many cases this means a flight could be departing early, such as 5am, and in other cases, the flight leaves the night before and arrives in Sydney in the early hours.

The average cost of airfares to Sydney from across Australia and New Zealand.

These prices compare the airfares on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the week before, the week of and the week after Taylor Swift’s concert in Sydney.

THURSDAY:

From Melbourne:

• Flights to Sydney from Melbourne Thursday 15 February (Week Before):
  Qantas – $125, Jetstar – $110, Virgin – $95
• Flights to Sydney from Melbourne Thursday 22 February (Week of concert):
  Qantas – $125, Jetstar – $120, Virgin – $181
• Flights to Sydney from Melbourne Thursday 29 February (Week after):
  Qantas – $125, Jetstar – $110, Virgin – $95

From Brisbane:

• Flights to Sydney from Brisbane Thursday 15 February (Week Before):
  Qantas – $129, Jetstar – $148, Virgin – $99
• Flights to Sydney from Brisbane Thursday 22 February (Week of concert):
  Qantas – $129, Jetstar – $194, Virgin – $202
• Flights to Sydney from Brisbane Thursday 29 February (Week after):
  Qantas – $129, Jetstar – $148, Virgin – $95

From Perth:

• Flights to Sydney from Perth Thursday 15 February (Week Before):
  Qantas – $401, Jetstar – $299 (3 left at this price. Next faire $736), Virgin – $229
• Flights to Sydney from Perth Thursday 22 February (Week of concert):
  Qantas – $643, Jetstar – $499, Virgin – $321.60
• Flights to Sydney from Perth Thursday 29 February (Week after):
  Qantas – $299, Jetstar – $299, Virgin – $229

From Auckland:

• Flights to Sydney from Auckland Thursday 15 February (Week Before):
  Qantas – $287, Jetstar – $365.57, Air NZ – $245, Air Asia X – $154 (Departure the previous night), LATAM – $267.36
• Flights to Sydney from Auckland Thursday 22 February (Week of concert):
  Qantas – $572 (Price “nearly gone”), Jetstar – $465.57, Air NZ – $591, Air Asia X – $304 (Departure the previous night), LATAM – $397.44
• Flights to Sydney from Auckland Thursday 29 February (Week after):
  Qantas – $287, Jetstar – $365.57, Air NZ – $245, Air Asia X – No Flight, LATAM – $267.36

FRIDAY:

From Melbourne:

• Flights to Sydney from Melbourne Friday 16 February (Week Before):
  Qantas – $125, Jetstar – $110, Virgin – $95
• Flights to Sydney from Melbourne Friday 23 February (Week of concert):
  Qantas – $125, Jetstar – $120, Virgin – $181
• Flights to Sydney from Melbourne Friday 1 March (Week after):
  Qantas – $125, Jetstar – $110, Virgin – $95

From Brisbane:

• Flights to Sydney from Brisbane Friday 16 February (Week Before):
  Qantas – $129, Jetstar – $148, Virgin – $99
• Flights to Sydney from Brisbane Friday 23 February (Week of concert):
  Qantas – $281, Jetstar – $314, Virgin – $222
• Flights to Sydney from Brisbane Friday 1 March (Week after):
  Qantas – $129, Jetstar – $148, Virgin – $95

From Perth:

• Flights to Sydney from Perth Friday 16 February (Week Before):
  Qantas – $401, Jetstar – $299 (3 left at this price. Next faire $736), Virgin – $229
• Flights to Sydney from Perth Friday 23 February (Week of concert):
  Qantas – $514, Jetstar – $399 (Depart the night before), Virgin – $330.67
• Flights to Sydney from Perth Friday 1 March (Week after):
  Qantas – $299, Jetstar – $279, Virgin – $229

From Auckland:

• Flights to Sydney from Auckland Friday 16 February (Week Before):
  Qantas – $287, Jetstar – $395.57, Air NZ – $245, Air Asia X – $154 (Departure the previous night), LATAM – $302.15
• Flights to Sydney from Auckland Friday 23 February (Week of concert):
  Qantas – $572 (Price “nearly gone”), Jetstar – $465.57, Air NZ – $591, Air Asia X – $304 (Departure the previous night), LATAM – $397.44
• Flights to Sydney from Auckland Friday 1 March (Week after):
  Qantas – $287, Jetstar – $366, Air NZ – $245, Air Asia X – No Flight, LATAM – $326.35

SATURDAY:

From Melbourne:

• Flights to Sydney from Melbourne Saturday 17 February (Week Before):
  Qantas – $125, Jetstar – $110, Virgin – $95
• Flights to Sydney from Melbourne Saturday 24 February (Week of concert):
  Qantas – $125, Jetstar – $120, Virgin – $171
• Flights to Sydney from Melbourne Saturday 2 March (Week after):
  Qantas – $125, Jetstar – $110, Virgin – $95

From Brisbane:

• Flights to Sydney from Brisbane Saturday 17 February (Week Before):
  Qantas – $129, Jetstar – $148, Virgin – $99
• Flights to Sydney from Brisbane Saturday 24 February (Week of concert):
  Qantas – $281, Jetstar – $241, Virgin – $242
• Flights to Sydney from Brisbane Saturday 2 March (Week after):
  Qantas – $129, Jetstar – $148, Virgin – $95

From Perth:

• Flights to Sydney from Perth Saturday 17 February (Week Before):
  Qantas – $401, Jetstar – $259 (Depart the night before), Virgin – $229
• Flights to Sydney from Perth Saturday 24 February (Week of concert):
  Qantas – $514, Jetstar – $319 (Depart the night before), Virgin – $330.67
• Flights to Sydney from Perth Saturday 2 March (Week after):
  Qantas – $299, Jetstar – $259, Virgin – $229

From Auckland:

• Flights to Sydney from Auckland Saturday 17 February (Week Before):
  Qantas – $287, Jetstar – $335.57, Air NZ – $245, Air Asia X – $202 (Departure the previous night), LATAM – $279.46
• Flights to Sydney from Auckland Saturday 24 February (Week of concert):
  Qantas – $572, Jetstar – $335.57, Air NZ – $407, Air Asia X – $237 (Departure the previous night), LATAM – $279.46
• Flights to Sydney from Auckland Saturday 2 March (Week after):
  Qantas – $287, Jetstar – $366, Air NZ – $232, Air Asia X – No Flight, LATAM – $279.46

So when should you book?

Now.

Airfares were taken from each airlines website. The cheapest direct flight arriving early enough for travellers to get to the concert have been used.  These fares may be seat only/no checked luggage fares.