The arrival of BTS's world tour in Hong Kong next year is expected to be a sure-fire hit with the city's hospitality sector, with hotels likely to see a similar surge in bookings to the one experienced in Seoul earlier this year when the South Korean pop superstars launched their comeback series of concerts, according to analysts.
When BTS kicked off their Arirang world tour - their first since completing mandatory military training - in the South Korean capital in April, local hotels recorded a major uptick in bookings, CBRE data showed. Revenue per available room jumped by 34% compared with the same period in 2025.
Hong Kong's hotels can expect a similar bonanza when the boy band hold their run of three concerts at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium in Kowloon in early March, according to Shaman Chellaram, senior director for hotel advisory at Colliers.
"Major global music concerts such as BTS are expected to provide a significant uplift for the hotel sector," Chellaram said. "High-profile concerts help drive short-term occupancy, strengthen pricing power, and - more importantly - add momentum to Hong Kong's growing year-round events economy."
In particular, hoteliers that "curate a targeted marketing strategy and guest experience in alignment with these mega-events will be well-positioned to boost performance," he added.
During recent major events in the city, some hotel operators have reported average daily rate uplifts of 10% to 30%, especially in the Tsim Sha Tsui area, according to Chellaram.
Six months ahead of BTS' arrival, several hotels in Hong Kong have already announced promotions for would-be concertgoers.
Dorsett Kai Tak has launched "early bird offers" and special rates for bookings that weekend, while Royal Park Hotel in Sha Tin plans to offer a complimentary one-way shuttle bus service to Kai Tak Sports Park.
Since Kai Tak Stadium opened in March last year, the mammoth venue has "quickly emerged as one of Asia's leading event venues and top three internationally in terms of ticket sales in its first year, helping underpin hotel performance for 2026 and beyond," Chellaram said.
Hotelier William Cheng said he was also expecting a surge in demand for hotel rooms due to the BTS shows, but cautioned that the city needed to do more to attract high-spending tourists beyond promoting concerts and events.
"Whenever there is a popular concert in Hong Kong, there is a surge of demand for hotel rooms leading to full occupancies and higher rates," said Cheng, whose Shun Ho group controls ownership of a string of properties, including Ramada Hong Kong Grand View and Best Western Plus Hotel Causeway Bay.
"However, there is a limited number of concert events, and the performance of hotels and the tourism market is also dependent on other factors, such as the weather, and that is important as 80% of our visitors are from mainland China," he added.
"If the weather is too rainy or there is a typhoon, they won't come. They also assess the attractiveness of Hong Kong tourism and if there is enough reason for them to spend and stay overnight."
In the first half of the year, visitors to major events in Hong Kong spent HK$5.8 billion (25 billion baht), or an average of HK$3,314 per head, according to Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po.
In his latest weekly blog, Chan said about 1.75 million visitors were drawn to more than 130 events between January and June, contributing HK$3.3 billion to the economy.
For the second half of the year, Hong Kong is scheduled to hold more than 100 events, including the Food Expo, National Day fireworks display, the Hong Kong Cyclothon and the Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival, Chan said.
He added that these were expected to attract more than 1.85 million visitors, HK$5.9 billion in spending and HK$3.3 billion in additional economic value.
