S’pore economy may get nearly S$500M boost from Taylor Swift concerts: experts

Analysts say Taylor Swift concerts provide significant boost to Singapore’s economy

Analysts say that the recent slew of concerts by Taylor Swift will bring Singapore a boost of almost S$500 million to its economy.

The sold-out shows spanned a total of six nights between 2 to 9 March at the National Stadium, and is the popstar’s only stop in Southeast Asia on ‘The Eras Tour’.

A good chunk of those who purchased tickets were fans from overseas, leading to higher earnings from airfares and hotel stays.

Thanks to the “Swift Surge”, Singapore’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) may expand by 2.9% in the first quarter of 2024.

Taylor Swift concerts may boost Singapore economy by 2.9%

Speaking to The Washington Post, Erica Tay, director of macro research at Maybank, said that Singapore will make approximately US$260 million (S$346.23 million) to US$375 million (S$499.38 million) in tourism earnings from the six sold-out concerts.

Separately, Bloomberg forecasts the country’s GDP to grow by 2.9% in the first quarter of the year. This would be the highest expansion in six quarters.

Economist Han Teng Chua told Bloomberg that higher tourist spending from the large number of overseas fans attending the concerts in Singapore is the main cause of this increase.

Experts are thus raising predictions for annual growth from 2.3% to 2.5%.

Changi Airport arrivals spiked by 20% during ‘The Eras Tour’

Among the sectors that have benefitted from ‘The Eras Tour’ are:

• Hospitality
• Food & beverage
• Retail

Changi Airport confirmed with The Washington Post that arrival passenger traffic between 1 and 7 March rose by more than 20% in comparison to the same period last year.

Per CNN, 70% of the concertgoers were from places outside of Singapore.

One of the concert sponsors, Marina Bay Sands (MBS), sold out packages ranging from US$7,500 (S$9,990.20) to US$35,000 (S$46,620.96), with 90% of guests coming from other countries.

This therefore indicates the strong tourism appeal of ‘The Eras Tour’, MBS Chief Marketing Officer Irene Lin elaborated.

On top of that, Klook’s general manager for Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore Sarah Wan added that a tourist attending a concert or event can spend up to five times the face ticket value. They may also fork out an extra US$800 (S$1,065.44) on local experiences.

Also read: ‘S’pore is a great entrepreneur’: M’sian agency founder hails economic benefits of Taylor Swift exclusivity

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Featured image adapted from AEG Presents Asia on Facebook and Joshelerry on Canva.