New York sightseeing (edited by Taylor).
Swifties are coming to the Big Apple with their wallets open to follow in Taylor Swift's footsteps, sparking a new wave of tourism focused on her favorite places.
One of those short trips “Taylor Swift's New York: Walking Tour” It offers attendees a chance to tour Lower Manhattan through the singer's eyes, focusing business on the star's favorite date night restaurant and the bakery that made her 34th birthday cake.
“Everyone wants to taste the same cake she had for her birthday last year,” said tour guide Matthew Laspata, who stopped by the Milk Bar and said, “Not everyone is a cake fan.” He added that most guests are happy to try it. .
Last Saturday, the newspaper reported, nine people visited various hot spots associated with Swift, including Electric Lady Studio, where Laspata recorded songs such as “Lover” and “Folklore,” and the campus of New York University, where Swift gave a lecture. I followed Laspata, who took the tourists there. 2022 Graduation Speech.
The group also roamed Cornelia Street in Greenwich Village (which has its own song named after it) and around two of the “Anti Hero” singer's homes. The star's $50 million Tribeca mansion.
Many of the crooner's hangouts are off-limits to the public, so Laspata visited several Swifties restaurants and businesses during his walking tour to offer guests some sort of memento to take home. And they eagerly seized the opportunity.
Sophie Demurjian, owner of Soho clothing and accessories shop Cut and Cropped, estimates that 60% of her customer base are Swifties.
The Spring Street business sells a variety of celebrity-inspired sweatshirts, including sweatshirts with song lyrics and stars' faces, but Swift's merchandise always seems to sell out the quickest.
“She's so embedded in so many things about New York that people associate her with the idea of New York, and specifically SoHo, because 90% of the time that's where she imagines it. And her All the songs have a lot of references to New York,” Demurdjian explains, adding that the pop star attracts guests from all over the world every day.
“People are flocking to New York who are looking for the full experience that has something to do with her. And a lot of people come to New York because of Taylor Swift. 'Welcome to New York,' and that's what people are looking for, especially young people. It's a big reason why people want to go to New York.”
Swift's influence had a direct impact on the way Demurjian approached business. Store owners buy products related to the singer in larger quantities than other pop stars in hopes of selling out quickly.
The effects are spreading throughout the Big Apple. Searches for Milk Bar on Google spiked nearly 4,000% last year after the “All Too Well” singer was spotted enjoying a cake from the bakery. star-studded 34th birthday partyAccording to Mash research.
Milk Bar quickly capitalized on the bragging rights by reposting photos of the bash on its social media pages. Clip of Swift celebrating her $140 best-selling birthday Make her “favorite cake” into a cake.
At Nolita's Housing Works Bookstore, you can still see the venue where Swift filmed the final scene of her musical film “All Too Well (Taylor's Version),” three years after its video release. Three to four Swifts stop by every week to help.
“We actually put a little plaque on the floor that said, 'Taylor was standing here,' because so many people came up and asked where Taylor stood.” said Erica Pratico, the bookstore's experiential operations manager.
While most Swifts drink coffee in the store's cafe or purchase books as souvenirs, Housing Works has expanded the Swift product line to better cater to its loyal group of visitors. The nonprofit just released its own brand of red scarves as a copycat item. Featuring “All Too Well” iconography and offering a “Merry Swiftmas” holiday card.
The bookstore also just celebrated its third annual Swift Karaoke event, where 150 Swifties gathered this year to compete for a chance to win prizes donated by the singer's own corporate office. Tickets will be sold for $10 each, or $20 for a guaranteed spot on stage.
“It’s fun,” Platico said. “It's such a warm and encouraging group of people and so much fun to be around. So it's important to their community and gatherings to be like, 'Oh yeah, Taylor was standing here.' I think so.”
Laspata's own tour sells tickets for $40 each and draws guests from all over the country. Some even fly into the city just to join the pop star's frolic.
“Taylor Swift seems to be motivated to bring joy and happiness to people, and it's a wonderful thing to be able to share even a little bit of joy and happiness with people.'' Raspata, who has been operating the company, explained. Since then, up to 4 times a week.
Raspata said the majority of participants were young women and girls. Most were tourists, but he also met many locals who were eager for a chance to see Manhattan through Swift's eyes.
“Just feeling their energy and seeing the joy and happiness this little tour brings is so cool.”
For Saturday's tour group, paying a few dollars for the chance to walk down the same street as their favorite stars was a small price to pay.
Superfan Lucy Sechenke, 13, who flew in from Cincinnati, Ohio, with her three sisters, mother and grandmother, explained that over the years Swift has come to mean more to her than a great singer.
“She helped me with the bullying at school and everything,” Lucy told the Post, adding that she has been on three Elas tours.
“She gave me words of encouragement and was like a really fun role model. I have an older sister, and she's the closest thing to an older sister. He's a very fun person.”
Her 7-year-old sister Rosie added that Swift has become her favorite artist at family karaoke nights: “I love Bad Blood!”
Alana Rios, 11, recently celebrated a Swift-themed birthday on a girls' trip from the Bay Area with her mom Maria and sister Olivia, 9. On that birthday, a birthday cake featured a Photoshopped image of Alana shaking Swift's hand. hand.
Maria said it seemed like the right thing to end a weekend in New York City, where they enjoyed Broadway shows and evening strolls, with a walking tour of Swift.
“We have to make sure we do this. We couldn't take them on Ella's tour, so this is kind of the next thing,” the mother of two said.
