Kaohsiung says Blackpink gave city tourism NT$300 million boost

Kaohsiung, Oct. 20 (CNA) Blackpink's concerts helped Kaohsiung generate over NT$300 million (US$9.8 million) in tourism revenue, the city government said Monday.

While more than 120,000 people came to see the K-pop girl group at the Kaohsiung National Stadium over two days, Blackpink's fans also spent money around the southern port city in its tourist industry, according to Kaohsiung's Economic Development Bureau.

For example, many vendors in night markets such as Liuhe and Ruifeng saw sales jump by at least 30 percent, the bureau said in a press release.

Kaohsiung was the first Asian stop of Blankpink's "Deadline" world tour.

However, with some Blackpink fans unable to procure tickets to the two shows, some resorted to tailgating outside the stadium during the concerts.

The city's Transportation Bureau said that, including ticketholders and tailgaters, as many as 63,000 people were present within and around the stadium on Saturday, while as many as 59,000 were at the location on Sunday, indicating that at least 120,000 attended the shows over two days.

The Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp. (KRTC) also reported that the city's metro system carried a total of 323,601 passengers on Saturday and 281,511 on Sunday.

Oct. 19: Fans tailgate, line up early for Blackpink show in Kaohsiung

Saturday was the busiest day on the metro so far this year in terms of passengers, the KRTC added.

Blackpink had already left its mark on the city before with their "Born Pink" concerts in Kaohsiung in 2023, when the city's metro ridership record of around 250,000 passengers was also broken.

The Kaohsiung leg of Blackpink's Deadline tour also made the girl group the first Korean artists to hold the most number of shows at the Kaohsiung National Stadium.

Blackpink also set a record of having over 100,000 audience members in each of the two two-day concerts, selling over 190,000 tickets when counting their 2023 and 2025 tour legs together.