Singapore Moolah: Where Taylor Swift goes, there the money swiftly grows

SINGAPORE: In keeping with her record-breaking The Eras Tour, pop superstar Taylor Swift is helping to bring in big bucks to Singapore, where she is scheduled to perform sold-out shows from March 2 to 9.

The tour, which began in March last year and is set to go on until Dec 24, 2024, was the first to make more than US$1 billion (S$1.34 billion) in revenue as Swift, arguably currently the biggest pop star in the world, takes it all over the globe.

In Singapore, a tie-up with UOB provided a boost for the bank last year. Moreover, the demand for accommodations and flights has surged by about 30 per cent for her tour dates in Singapore, CNA reported on Friday (Feb 23).

In a joint statement earlier this week, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Ministry of Community, Culture and Youth (MCCY) said that Swift had been awarded a grant to perform in Singapore, the only country in South East Asia where she is performing.

While the value of the grant has remained undisclosed, it “is likely to generate significant benefits to the Singapore economy, especially to tourism activities such as hospitality, retail, travel and dining, as has happened in other cities in which Taylor Swift has performed.”

Over 300,000 tickets to Swift’s concert have been sold in Singapore, and a “significant” number of ticket buyers are individuals from other countries.

CNA quoted an expert saying that the revenues from her Singapore show could be more than the A$1.2 billion (S$1.05 billion) the tour is expected to generate in Australia.

Singapore Airlines, Scoot and Jetstar Asia told CNA that the demand for flights into Singapore, especially from other Southeast Asian countries, rose around Swift’s tour dates, with hotels seeing a similar uptick.

The economic impact of the Eras Tour has been described as “staggering.” Countries and cities where Swift has performed have enjoyed a large boost in revenues. In North America alone, the tour has been projected to rake in US$2.2 billion (S$2.97 billion) in earnings.

The economic valuation of the tour is expected to reach US$5 billion (S$6.74 billion), an amount higher than the Gross Domestic Product of 50 countries.

In the United States, fans were said to have spent an average of US$1,300 (S$1,758) per person on tickets, travel, clothing, and merchandise on the tour.

On Feb 21, Swift was named IFPI’s 2023 Global Recording Artist of the Year Award. The award is given based on an artist’s global sales based on streaming, download and physical music formats for a given year. /TISG

Read also: Thai PM claims Taylor Swift deal says she can’t perform in other SEA countries outside SG

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