Economy booster: One travel platform saw tour bookings shoot up by 2,373% during concert period.

Phenomenon
Definition:
a: a rare or significant fact or event, b: an exceptional, unusual, or abnormal person, thing, or occurrence

People usually make ‘Best Of’ lists at the end of the year, but I’m assuming for the 300,000+ fans attending Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour in Singapore, the next two weeks will surely make their 2024 highlight reel. Swift is set to play six shows in March and according to analysts, the month is already on track to hit the highest occupancy levels out of the first eight months in 2024. 

The pop icon has become such a cultural hit that in February, the Embassy of Japan in the United States had to reassure Swifties on social media that she could perform in Tokyo and comfortably make it to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. 

But it’s not just Swifties who are going ga-ga over their idol; entire countries are enjoying the economic benefits of Swift’s mega-production – which many liken to a blockbuster Broadway spectacle. Wherever Taylor Swift goes, hundreds of millions of dollars are bound to follow.

Ka-ching! Taylor Swift sings to the sound of S$350m-S$500m in tourism receipts

Music tourism has been given a shot of adrenaline in the last couple of years, with many willing to travel across borders just to see their favourite acts live in concert. Back in November 2023, Grammy-winning British pop rock band Coldplay sold 81,812 tickets in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, making it the most attended concert of their career.

Coldplay Charts posted on X: “Coldplay’s gig at Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Jalil National Stadium grossed $10,904,369 (RM51.9 million) from 81,812 tickets sold.”

In January 2024, market analytics company, CoStar, reported that Singapore posted its highest daily occupancy levels toward the end of the month, helped by six Coldplay performances between 23-31 January. The market’s highest occupancy levels (91.3%) were seen on Thursday, 25 January, and Friday, 26 January.

“Assuming that the majority of concertgoers are flying in from other parts of Asia, the tourism receipts related to Taylor Swift’s tour can come in at S$350 million to S$500 million,” said Erica Tay, director of macro research at Maybank, to CNBC. DBS economist Chua Han Teng had a similar estimate of S$300 million to S$400 million in revenue, which makes up an estimated 0.2% of Singapore’s first-quarter gross domestic product.

Speaking to WiT, Sarah Wan, General Manager, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, Klook, said, “Mega-events in general, encompassing festivals, concerts, major sporting events, bring immense economic benefits driven by high tourist spending as they seek additional services and experiences to supplement their trip.

“In fact, we’ve observed a 50% increase in demand for these activities during periods when mega-events like concerts are in Singapore.”

She continued, “This week, we’re seeing a significant interest in things to do in Singapore, with the most searched activities being the iconic attractions like Universal Studio Singapore and Gardens By The Bay.

“Based on our data, typically, a tourist attending a concert or event can hit an incremental spending of 5x the face ticket value,” explained Wan. “Based on an average ticket price, we expect a traveler to spend an additional US$800 on local hotels, restaurants, and experiences.”

Quantifying Swift’s Aussie impact

Swift’s Australian gigs garnered record-breaking numbers, with research from RMIT University valuing the national economic impact of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour at more than half a billion dollars. 

RMIT Finance Professor, Angel Zhong, told Forbes that at an estimated $900 of spending on tickets, accommodation, travel, merchandise and dining per person, the total injection directly into the Australian economy as a whole is at least $558 million, with the economic impact likely extending beyond New South Wales and Victoria, positively affecting the entire country.

Australia now has the bragging rights of hosting the biggest shows in Eras Tour history with 96,000 roaring Swifties in attendance on the first night in Melbourne, and then again on the second and third nights. 

In total, 620,000 tickets were sold in Australia.

Demand for Taylor Swift was so high that Qantas added 60 new flights for her Australian tour while Virgin Australia enjoyed a 650% increase in bookings on her show dates. 

Skyscanner noted its biggest spike in bookings for South Koreans coming to Australia during Swift’s show dates, while also facilitating 11x more bookings from New Zealanders during the same time.

Demand skyrockets in Singapore, too

Flagship carrier Singapore Airlines, alongside budget airline Scoot, confirmed to CNBC that they have witnessed a pronounced spike in flight demand, particularly emanating from South-east Asia. Jetstar Asia corroborated the surge at 20% for routes linking prominent destinations such as Bangkok, Manila, and Jakarta to Singapore.

As for accommodation, back in July 2023, hotel analytics company STR (Smith Travel Research) highlighted that hotel bookings in Singapore for March 2024 surged 10%. The company said that looking at the key submarkets in Singapore, all six nights of Taylor Swift performances show hotels booked up across the island, with Marina Bay and Sentosa leading by a mile at the time. 

Trip.com Singapore General Manager, Edmund Ong, shared that for the concert period of 1-9 March 2024, the total volume of Singapore-related bookings increased by 275% compared to the same period two weeks later (15-23 March 2024). Breaking it down further, Singapore-inbound flights went up by 186% on the platform, accommodation bookings almost quintupled to 462%, and attractions and tour bookings shot up by a staggering 2,373%.

According to Trip.com’s booking data, the average age of users making bookings from 1-9 March was 33, slightly younger than the 37.2 for the 15-23 March period. Almost half (48%) of users who made bookings during the Taylor Swift concert period were in the 21-30 age range, double the 24% for the 15-23 March period.

The issue of grants and exclusivity clauses

With so much to benefit from, many fans in the region were left wondering why The Eras Tour didn’t make more stops in Asia considering its mass appeal. In fact, Singapore is the Tour’s only stop in South-east Asia.

Thailand, in particular, has been quite vocal of late about not being able to secure a concert for the country. Recently, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said he was informed by concert organisers, AEG, that the Singapore Government offered subsidies of up to S$4 million per performance in exchange for exclusive destination rights in South-east Asia.

While the existence of such a clause has not been confirmed, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has disclosed its involvement in facilitating Swift’s tour to the Lion City by providing a grant. 

Grant provisions to attract performers are a familiar strategy in the tourism industry, noted Christopher Khoo, managing director of tourism consultancy MasterConsult Services.  Khoo, who has 15 years of experience at STB, highlighted to CNA that such grants serve to steer tourism development in specific directions. These incentives are often based on a percentage of qualifying costs like event production, marketing, and professional services, explained Loh. 

Dr. Samer Elhajjar, a senior lecturer of marketing at the National University of Singapore’s Business School, further emphasised to CNA that grants can mitigate costs associated with venue rental, transportation, and accommodations, alleviating financial burdens for artists and their teams. This financial flexibility, Dr. Elhajjar noted, empowers artists like Taylor Swift to optimise touring strategies and expand their audience reach.

Januel Koh, a digital marketing and branding lecturer at Singapore Polytechnic’s School of Business, underscored the business benefits of securing exclusivity for a global icon like Swift. Such exclusivity, Koh explained, monopolises regional market share and entices fans worldwide to visit the host country for the concert.

And it’s not all about the economy (even though it probably is), but Singapore has a lot to gain culturally as well. 

As Maybank’s Tay told CNBC, “If she falls in love with chicken rice, it can put the dish, and Singapore, on the map for a new audience globally.”