Everything About Swiftonomics, Whereby Taylor Swift’s Presence Can Impact Local Economics

By
Chew Ming Hui
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The “Taylor Swift Effect” is pretty real.

It affects all aspects of our lives — be it having the default school event playlist filled with Taylor Swift songs or listening to your friends “yap” about Taylor Swift whenever you meet them; the American pop star seems to demand our attention constantly.

In fact, she even demands the attention of governments. And most of it boils down to what has been coined as “Swiftonomics”.

Don’t know what that is? Well, Goody Feed’s got your back.

Here’s everything you need to know about “Swiftonomics”.

Swiftonomics: Even Singapore’s In On It

Put simply, “Swiftonomics” is the phenomenon whereby Taylor Swift’s presence in your country could, more often than not, positively impact the economics of your country.

Before you dismiss “Swiftonomics” as a sham cooked up by the “Swifties”, we’ll have you know that even Singapore is in on it. In fact, Singapore has already benefitted from “Swiftonomics”.

If you didn’t already know, the American pop star will perform six nights in Singapore in March this year. And the knock-on economic effects of the Singapore leg of Swift’s Eras tour have been extraordinary.

Image: Singapore Sports Hub

So extraordinary that experts estimate that Swift’s concerts in Singapore could generate millions of dollars in revenue.

It’s no surprise — other nations where Swift has performed will also likely see large amounts of revenue.

Earlier this month, the pop star had three shows in Melbourne, Australia. Experts estimate that Swift’s tour in Melbourne alone could generate A$1.2 billion (US$787 million) in economic value.

As for Tokyo, it’s likely that up to 34.1 billion yen (US$226.8 million) will be generated by the four shows Swift had there earlier this year.

Rise in Demand for Flight and Hotel Bookings

Say you’re a “Swiftie” hailing from Thailand who desperately wants a ticket to the Eras tour. Since Taylor Swift isn’t performing in Thailand, you’ll have to travel to another country in Asia where Swift will be performing if you want to catch her concert.

I guess you could walk if you wanted to. Perhaps swim over if you’re trying to pull a “Mas Selamat”.

But it’s more likely that you’ll be flying to those countries. And that’s one of the fundamental driving forces of “Swiftonomics” — revenue from flights coming into Singapore.

Demand for flights around the dates of Swift’s Singapore concerts has spiked and by no small margin either.

For instance, Jetstar Asia reports that demand for routes connecting Singapore to places like Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta has risen by 20%. Demand for flights to Singapore on the go-to airlines like Singapore Airlines and Scoot has also spiked.

And if you’re here in Singapore, of course, you’ll have to look for accommodation.

Heng, ong, huat! That’s more money in Singapore’s pocket.

Demand for accommodation around Swift’s Singapore concert dates has spiked, with hotels reporting up to a 30% increase in demand.

M Hotel Singapore shared that not only have local hotel bookings for the first two weeks of March risen, but the hotel is also seeing a 30% rise in demand from Southeast Asia — likely bookings from those flying to Singapore to catch Swift’s Singapore concert.

M Hotel Singapore isn’t the only hotel seeing a spike in demand. Other hotels, such as One Farrer Hotel, have also reported a rise in demand from Southeast Asia of up to 30%.

Westin Singapore also shared: “We have experienced a significant spike in demand during the period Taylor Swift is performing in Singapore, with a significant number of the bookings coming from our Marriott Bonvoy members in Southeast Asia and beyond.”

People go anywhere Taylor Swift goes lah. If you’re planning a staycation in March, good luck trying to secure a hotel at a reasonable price.

Of course, this isn’t the first time hoteliers have seen “Swiftonomics” in action — it happens all the time when internationally acclaimed performers like Swift have concerts in Singapore.

It goes beyond “Swiftonomics” — it boils down to “Popstar-onomics” if you could call it that.

A Big Part of the “Why”: Singapore is the Only Southeast Asia Stop for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour

At this point, you might be thinking: So what? What makes Taylor Swift so different from every other pop star who comes to Singapore to perform?

A big part of it is this — while other pop stars may have more stops in the Asia legs of their tours, Swift only has two stops in Asia for the current Eras tour. And Singapore is one of them.

In fact, Singapore is the only stop in Southeast Asia.

It’s no wonder everyone is flying to Singapore to catch one of the six shows Swift is putting up here.

However, revenue from the surge in demand for flights and accommodation isn’t the only benefit Singapore is getting in terms of economics.

In the long term, Singapore’s status as one of two Asian nations where a star as famous as Swift chose to perform helps to cement this little red dot as the “events capital” of Asia. This drives Singapore to the top of artists’ picks when it comes to the question, “Where in Asia to perform?”.

Think of it like this: You want to host a party but don’t know where to host it. Perhaps you could host it in a kopitiam, or maybe you could host it in a chalet like the Chevrons since just about every popular kid you’ve known has hosted their parties there.

It’s the same for concerts in Singapore — in the long term, Singapore is likely to become the go-to place for artists to host their concerts, instead of other countries. This means that we’ll likely see more repeats of the knock-on effects on Singapore’s economy, as we see now with Swift’s concert, in the future.

“Hosting exclusive events offers invaluable branding opportunities whose impact can persist long after the concerts are over, significantly boosting Singapore’s image as a vibrant, culturally rich destination,” Mr Kevin Wee, senior lecturer at Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Business Management, shared.

Mr Januel Koh, a digital marketing and branding lecturer at Singapore Polytechnic’s School of Business, added: “It monopolises the market share within the region and compels billions of fans from across the globe to visit the exclusive host country for the concert.”

Nations can’t exactly buy 4D, so this is a great way to huat lah.

STB: Singapore Provided a Grant to Bring Taylor Swift to the Little Red Dot

Of course, good things never come easy — Swift didn’t just spin a wheel or flip a coin to see which Asian country she should perform in.

A key reason Swift decided to bring the Eras tour to Singapore could be the grant that Singapore had provided.

Yes, you read that right. Singapore had provided a financial grant to bring Taylor Swift’s shows here.

Pick your jaw back up lah. The provision of grants to bring in performers is nothing new, according to Mr Christopher Khoo, the managing director of tourism consultancy MasterConsult Services.

Others have also chimed in, sharing the same.

For instance, Mr Joshua Loh, the course chair for the Diploma in Tourism & Resort Management at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, added that it was “not uncommon” for financial incentives to be offered to anchor significant events.

With incentives such as financial grants, costs are lowered for the artiste — this could be why Swift can host this many shows in Singapore.

She’s performing so many nights in Singapore that she might as well apply to be a Permanent Resident (PR) here.

While STB has acknowledged that a grant was provided to bring TayTay to Singapore, the answer to other questions, such as whether grants were given out in the past to other acts, is unclear.

Was a financial grant similarly given to Coldplay to bring “Coldplay week” to Singapore? We’ll never know.

Regardless, that’s not the point. What we do know is that providing a financial grant to bring Taylor Swift to Singapore has indeed generated significant economic benefits, as STB  has also shared.

“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,” said STB and the Ministry of Community, Culture and Youth (MCCY) in a joint statement.

Perhaps sometime in the future, Singaporeans watching the Budget speech will hear about the grants given to artists to perform in Singapore.

If you’d like to find out more about the grant that earned Singapore Swifties their travel-free Taylor Swift concert, watch this video here:

Watch this for a complete summary of what REALLY happened to Qoo10, and why it's like a K-drama:

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Chew Ming Hui
Email: [email protected]