BC Ferries adds 22 sailings on weekend of Vancouver Taylor Swift concerts

In anticipation of a surge in demand from Swifties, BC Ferries has already added extra sailings to its most popular route on the weekend of the pop star's Vancouver shows.

The ferry company has added 22 sailings on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route on the December weekend when Taylor Swift is set to bring her Eras Tour to the B.C.

"We know many Island residents were lucky to be able to buy tickets and we want to make sure they have lots of options to get there and back," BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall said in an email, adding that extra sailings for the Dec. 6, 7 and 8 were added last week.

Because bookings just opened up, Marshall said it's too early to say how many reservations have been made. She also said it's not the first time the company has adapted its schedule in anticipation of a huge concert, citing Elton John as one example.

After people scored tickets for the shows, hotel rooms in the city booked up rapidly and prices went through the roof.

Swift is performing at BC Place, which has a capacity of 54,500, meaning the all-but-inevitably sold-out shows would bring upwards of 150,000 fans to the downtown core over three days. On average, Eras Tour fans are spending U.S. $1,300 – equivalent to more than $1,700 in Canada – on tickets, merchandise, alcohol, food, parking and hotels.

And if Swift's previous stop in the Pacific Northwest is anything to go by, the impact could be literally seismic. Over the summer, a show in Seattle generated activity equivalent to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake.

With a file from CP 24