A whirlwind China tour by Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — has brought a much-needed economic boost, both to a country struggling to lift consumer spending and to a musician whose controversies have hurt his business at home.

The Grammy Award-winning musician's Sunday show in Haikou, the capital of China's southern Hainan island province, was initially met with surprise, given China's record of stringent controls on foreign artists.

But the 42,000 tickets available sold out in minutes. Days after, the local tourism bureau announced a second performance. Ye posted about the next "listening party" on Instagram, scheduled for Sept. 28.

"This is no ordinary additional show, but the blooming of music's magic once more, and continuing revelry from fans," the Haikou tourism bureau said in its release.

Read more: In China's youth retreat centers, millennials seek to escape the grind

The fervor over the American rapper's return to China after 16 years highlights the power of the "concert economy," in which governments have courted superstar performances to attract fans and promote tourism. Earlier this year, Taylor Swift agreed to limit her Southeast Asia tour exclusively to Singapore, to the chagrin of its neighboring countries.

The Haikou government said Ye's "Vultures Listening Experience" brought in a new high of $52.8 million in tourism revenue for the city, and that 96.5% of ticket sales were purchased by attendees from outside Hainan island. The event offered deals for visiting fans on food, accommodation and sightseeing, amplifying activity over China's Mid-Autumn festival holiday.

China's sluggish economy is in dire need of stimulus, particularly from consumers who have cut back steeply in the face of financial uncertainly. A real estate downturn has weighed on home prices while youth unemployment has climbed. According to the investment bank Nomura, consumer confidence is near an all-time low.

Cities around China have tried to encourage domestic tourism and local consumption. For many concertgoers, Ye's arrival was incentive enough to splurge on a trip south.

According to Junjie Wang, a business reporter who writes a newsletter about China's retail sector, users on China's social media platform Xiaohongshu, which translates to Little Red Book, reported spending more than $1,400 on trips to see Ye. Hotel occupancy and sales at duty-free shops in Haikou also spiked during the holiday.

Read more: O.C. pastor imprisoned in China is released after nearly 20 years