Swifties make pricey pilgrimage to star's only Southeast Asian stop

Trip.com

02/03/2024 13:53

By Xinghui Kok and Joseph Campbell
       SINGAPORE, March 2 (Reuters) - Filipina Charlyn Suizo is
in Singapore this week for one reason only: Taylor Swift.
    The 30-year-old software engineer, who heads a Philippines
group of Swifties, as fans of the singer are known, flew in from
Manila on Friday with 17 friends.
    She is spending at least $6,000 on her flights, concert
tickets and accommodation. That is slightly above the average
annual household income in her home country.
    "This is the biggest amount I have spent for a concert. I
never really spent big ... for someone else, just Taylor Swift,”
said Suizo, who has splashed out on a VIP ticket costing more
than S$1,000 ($745). She plans to see three of Swift’s six
performances in Singapore.
    Suizo is among thousands of Swifties descending on Singapore
this week from all over Southeast Asia to catch the American
star's Eras Tour, giving the sluggish local economy a
much-needed boost.
    Swift is this week playing six sold-out nights in Singapore,
her only stop in Southeast Asia.
    Chua Hak Bin, an economist at Maybank, estimates that seven
in 10 of the 300,000 concertgoers will be coming in from abroad,
spending between S$350 million and S$500 million ($260 million
to $370 million) on hotels, food and entertainment.
    By comparison, the F1 Singapore Grand Prix has generated
around S$2 billion ($1.5 billion) in tourism receipts since it
started in 2008, according to the trade ministry.
    Meanwhile, analysts at HSBC say hotel rooms in Singapore now
cost 30% more than in pre-pandemic 2019.
    Edmund Ong, general manager at Trip.com Singapore, said that
from 1-9 March, the cost of flights into Singapore nearly
tripled while accommodation bookings almost quintupled. Bookings
for attractions and tours shot up by more than 2,300%.
    Economic growth in Singapore slowed to 1.1% last year from
3.8% in 2022, with growth of 1%-3% expected this year, according
to the government.
    Last month, the government said it had given Swift a grant
to play in Singapore. It did not disclose how much but said the
concerts were "likely to generate significant benefits to the
Singapore economy, especially to tourism activities such as
hospitality, retail, travel and dining". 
    The announcement annoyed other countries in the region, with
the Thai prime minister saying the grant was made on condition
that it would be Swift's only show in Southeast Asia, while a
Filipino lawmaker said it "isn't what good neighbours do".
Singapore's government did not confirm the exclusivity clause.
    Singapore has seen a boom in concerts since pandemic
lockdowns ended, with big names like Blackpink, Coldplay and Ed
Sheeran playing sold-out shows.


 (Reporting by Xinghui Kok and Joseph Campbell; editing by Giles
Elgood)
 ((xinghui.kok@thomsonreuters.com;))