Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour could boost Singapore’s GDP by over $200million
Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ Tour is set to boost Singapore’s GDP by over $200million (£155million).
Last February, it was reported that Singapore had made an exclusive deal with the popstar so she “can’t perform in any other countries in Southeast Asia”. As such, the singer has been performing six shows at Singapore’s 55,000-capacity National Stadium from March 2-9, making it the only Southeast Asian location on the Asia leg of her tour.
Now, Bloomberg has reported Swift’s Singapore stop will bring 0.2 percentage points of GDP to Singapore’s economy (roughly equivalent to $200million).
Forbes further revealed Swift’s decision to exclusively perform in Singapore meant hotel bookings rose 10% according to hotel analytics firm Smith Travel Research. Popular travel website Trip.com also stated flights to Singapore between March 1 and 9 increased by 186%.
Demand for flights from Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta into the city-state went up by 20% during that same time period, accoding to JetStar Asia.
The exclusive performance has received mixed responses from neighbouring countries. Whilst Thailand’s prime minister called the deal “astute”, a lawmaker from the Philippines criticised the move, saying: “[This] isn’t what good neighbours do. Our countries are good friends. That’s why actions like that hurt.”
In response, the Singaporean prime minister said the deal was “not unfriendly”, calling it a “successful arrangement”.
He continued: “Sometimes one country makes a deal, sometimes another country does. I don’t explicitly say, ‘You will come here only on condition that you’ll not go to other places’.
“If that’s what’s needed to be done to get an outcome which is mutually beneficial and which, from Singapore’s point of view, serves not just to grow the economy but also to bring in visitors and goodwill from all over the region, I don’t see why not.”
It follows the news that Swift’s tour became the first to gross over $1billion. The ‘Eras’ tour crossed the finish line back in December 2023, beating out previous record holder Elton John’s $939million ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour.
In other news, two men have been arrested and allegedly charged with sneaking fans into a Singapore ‘Eras’ tour show without tickets.
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Alex Rigotti
NME
