Coldplay and Taylor Swift’s concerts contribute to Singapore’s development | Wilnesh News

Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, and now Taylor Swift. Singapore sees the concert economy as a new growth driver that will add hundreds of millions of dollars in tourism revenue.

Liu Yun, ASEAN economist at HSBC, wrote in the report: “The Lion City has traditionally been more attractive for business travel, but these large-scale global music events are a boon to Singapore’s tourism-related services, which can add 10% to its GDP. .” Recent notes.

In January, British band Coldplay played six shows at the National Stadium in Singapore. Fans bought 200,000 tickets and the show sold out within hours. Breaking city-state records Be the artist with the most tickets sold in a single day.Singapore was Asia main stations Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres world tour – boosted the country’s tourism industry.

Asia-Pacific travel platform agoda recorded “massive surge“Search traffic for Singapore accommodation during Coldplay concerts. The company said interest in these dates increased 8.7 times after the band started selling tickets in June. Agoda said this growth was mainly driven by neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia.

Starting this weekend, Singapore will welcome American pop singer Taylor Swift, whose Eras tour in the United States last year is expected to earn around $4.6 billion in consumer spending.

“Given Taylor Swift’s past record, she is widely expected to deliver significant economic growth,” Liu added.

Shortly after the singer announced her concert dates in the city-state of Singapore Hotel bookings surge by 10% in March 2024Data from hotel analytics firm Smith Travel Research shows. Swift is scheduled to perform six shows in early March, with the month expected to culminate. highest occupancy rate First 8 months of 2024, according to STR data.

Demand for flights to Singapore has also surged. Swift’s blockbuster tour is hitting just three countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Japan, Australia and Singapore.Last week, the Singapore Tourism Board said Grants available Taking Swift’s Time Tour nationally.

Both are the country’s flagship carriers Singapore Airlines Budget airline Scoot told CNBC that demand for flights to Singapore surged in March, especially from Southeast Asia. Jetstar Asia also confirmed that demand for routes connecting destinations such as Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta and Singapore has surged by approximately 20%.

Erica Tay, director of macro research at Maybank, said Swift’s concert is expected to bring in about S$350 million to S$500 million (S$260.3 million to S$371.9 million), assuming about 70% of concertgoers fly in from overseas. USD) tourism revenue.

“If she hadn’t considered Singapore as a stop, I probably wouldn’t have bought the ticket,” said Mavis Mook, a 22-year-old Singaporean student who paid nearly 300 Singapore dollars ($223.38) for a ticket. Tickets for Taylor Swift concert.

“I wanted to experience this with the friends I grew up with. It’s hard to fly over just for a concert,” she added. Mook told CNBC she spent an additional S$150 on a concert outfit and beads for friendship bracelets, which concertgoers exchange at each tour stop. She also sets aside funds to purchase travel merchandise.

Singapore has also attracted high-profile performers such as Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Blackpink and more. The star-studded concert added new luster to Singapore as a tourist destination.

“Traditionally, the events industry – conferences, incentives, conferences and exhibitions – tends to attract affluent business travelers,” HSBC’s Liu said.

She said Singapore has large businesses in technology manufacturing and finance, but tourism-related services account for 10% of the country’s GDP.

Maybank’s Tai observes that event travel is reshaping the post-pandemic travel industry as more people are willing to fly to attend concerts or sporting events.