Malaysian gov’t urged to not miss out music tourism “economic lottery” as Singapore stands to make millions, if not billions, from Coldplay, Taylor Swift, and other big concerts

SINGAPORE: “Singapore 6, Malaysia 1,” wrote popular Malaysian MP Syed Saddiq in the caption to a TikTok in June that got almost half a million views, adding, “Nope. This is not about football.”

He was referring to big-name concerts that give out big-earning revenues playing in the Little Red Dot with accompanying performances from Coldplay, which will make Singapore richer. But Malaysia, not so much.

“Hundreds of thousands of people will be flying into Singapore to watch Coldplay,” he says in the video, adding that this would have benefitted Malaysia’s airlines, F&B, hotels and restaurant operators, among many others.

@syedsaddiq

Singapore 6 – 1 Malaysia Nope. This is not about football. It’s about Coldplay. Siapa untung? Siapa rugi? Share pandangan di komen pls. #syedsaddiq #coldplay #malaysia #coldplaysingapore #shows #concerts #concertsgoers #fyp #vidalavida #GGMU #MU

♬ Viva La Vida – Coldplay

“Coldplay is doing a six-day tour in Singapore. Yesterday it was five days, today they added another date. Over in Malaysia, there are so many obstacles to hold just one concert.

But what does the Coldplay concert in Singapore have to do with Malaysia? We actually missed the economic lottery,” the MP wrote in a Facebook post.

As for Singapore, the government had this in view long ago, with the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) vision for tourism stated as follows: “to establish Singapore as the ‘Events and Entertainment Capital of Asia’”.

Perhaps it’s time for Malaysia to follow suit.

“The government should start taking the creative industry seriously. It’s a pot of gold. And music tourism can have a significant economic impact on host destinations.

(In fact) the United States leg of Taylor Swift’s tour alone is projected to generate economic activity of US$5 billion,” Joe Lee, an entertainment editor and music management consultant, is quoted in a Yahoo! News piece as saying.

In the same piece, Rahul Kukreja, a concert promoter, did the math.

“Let’s say there are six major tours held in Singapore between January and March 2024, and we take into account that there are 70,000 who can afford to and will travel to watch at least three out of six shows. That’s 70,000 Malaysians travelling there in Q1.

Let’s then say a person spends about RM5,000 per trip. That’s RM350 million contributed to Singapore’s economy from Malaysians alone. And that’s a low estimate.” /TISG

Top musical acts from Coldplay to Taylor Swift in Singapore are part of government’s effort to make SG the ‘Events & Entertainment Capital of Asia’