Photo by Rosa Rafael, taken from Unsplash
Swiftonomics. A term many have used to describe the economic draw and appeal that pop artist Taylor Swift brings to a country. For anyone living in Singapore right now, regardless of whether they follow pop culture or not, they must have heard of Taylor Swift and her concerts. It has been the talk of the town, be it in daily conversations, news broadcasts, or even parliamentary sessions. The Eras Tour came to an end recently, on March 9th, with Swift performing her final show in Singapore. Though, from the start of March, whenever one boards the train and visits the city area, they can easily see tourists wearing Taylor Swift gear and malls broadcasting her songs. This is historical for Singapore; for a single week, the vibe and buzz in Singapore changed, and one could vividly feel the Eras Tour atmosphere in Singapore.
Let's talk about her economic impact in depth now. Certainly, it is widely known that Singapore is Swift’s only stop in Southeast Asia because of a swift move by the Singapore Tourism Board to offer her team a grant that ensured she would only perform in Singapore. With this move, her concerts were going to generate a significant economic impact because not only Singaporeans were going to be buying tickets, but instead people residing in many other Southeast Asian countries were going to have to visit Singapore to attend her concert. It was reported that the estimated revenue from these concerts was in the range of 350 to 500 million Singapore dollars (SGD). Recently, airlines and hotels also reported that the increase in demand for flights and accommodations reached nearly 30 percent. Regardless of whether the airlines were popular or not, all airlines that travel within Southeast Asia, like Singapore Airlines, Scoot, Jetstar, and Air Asia, reported heightened demand. A large number of hotels in Singapore, especially those located in strategic areas close to the National Stadium, also hiked prices and generated more revenue due to the increased demand.
Apart from that, these tourists would have to look for dining and retail options, and some of these tourists could have ended up extending their stay in Singapore to visit other attractions as well. That has resulted in society and our daily lives being impacted by Swiftmania. For retail and dining, evidently, many retail shops in Singapore have taken advantage of the circumstances. Some shops have improvised and created Taylor Swift-themed merchandise. For instance, Singapore bakery chain Baker’s Brew started baking Taylor Swift-inspired cakes, which has led to them generating much buzz from Gen Z customers, with young customers requesting for them to bake certain Taylor Swift-inspired cakes.
Attractions in Singapore, like the Luge at Sentosa, organised a special edition of the Luge ride titled “Ride the Beat," where tourists can enjoy Taylor Swift songs while on board the Luge. On March 1st, Jewel Changi Airport also hosted a three-hour singalong event called "beJeweled." This was a free, ticketed event that gave Swfities a chance to sing popular Taylor Swift songs with fellow Swifties and even claim a free Changi Airport Group friendship bracelet. Marina Bay Sands, one of Singapore's premier malls, even started an “Eras Tour Trail," featuring all of her 10 eras and also a retail pop-up store and a light and water show, drawing many to visit the mall and possibly spend and shop in the mall. Most importantly, small businesses, such as craft shops, were also beneficiaries of Swiftonomics. Several craft shops in People’s Park Centre were filled with swifties who were eager to make their own friendship bracelets ahead of the concert. The upsurge in demand has been massive, leading to some of these local shops lacking the stock to supplement the demand. As such, it is evident that many stakeholders have stood to gain from this “Swift effect,” and it has rocked Singapore from eateries to shops, malls, and even attractions.
When you think about the goods and services tax, the Singapore government stands to gain a considerable amount of revenue from this upsurge in consumer spending as well. As consumer spending increases, the government’s revenues from taxes will also rise, leading to a surge in government funds and possibly government spending. In the short term, it is clear that the revenues from the six days of the Eras Tour will contribute massively to Singapore’s economy. Though, in the long term, these funds could also be channelled into efforts to enhance the Singapore Sports Hub and its facilities for concerts. This could further project Singapore as a concert hub, such that Singapore would not have to rely on an exclusivity clause. Instead, Singapore would be a must-stop for pop artists to hold concerts at, and they would not hesitate to hold multiple shows in Singapore. As of now, Singapore is actually working on redeveloping the Singapore indoor stadium to be ready to compete in the future and host more international-quality events.
Yet, historical as it was, it opened up opportunities for scammers to take advantage of the situation. It was reported that at least $213,000 SGD was lost due to ticket scams for Taylor Swift concerts over the past 2 months. Throughout the concerts, it was well documented that there were tourists and Singaporeans who could not enjoy the concert because they realised they were scammed as the tickets had already been scanned in. Approximately 330 individuals were victims of such scams. It is just something unfortunate, but it is something that will happen when there is an event as large as this. It is certainly a lesson for Singapore to also enhance measures to limit scalping and possibly implement measures to help users check for the authenticity of their tickets.
Also, with the high volume of concertgoers and an unprecedented amount of people in the stadium, it made crowd-control measures difficult, with reports of fans from other sections encroaching into VIP spaces on the first night. This was so as security personnel reportedly shoved fans from other sections into the VIP sections for the sake of crowd control, but that led to VIP ticket holders suffering as their area was overcrowded. Crowd-control measures stepped up over the next few nights, and there seemed to be no more reports of such incidents. Clearly, crowd control mechanisms should now be more prepared to deal with such a high volume of visitors, and it is further proof that this large-scale concert could have elevated the quality of the sports hub’s security and crowd control management.
In conclusion, whether you are a Swiftie or not, as someone living in Singapore, you have to appreciate this moment because it is a moment that will be etched in Singapore’s history books. A week in Singapore's history, where a single individual took the nation by storm. Yet, it was not all sunshine and roses, as Singapore faces its own share of challenges while hosting this event. With these challenges, though, it provides a good learning experience for Singapore if it is to host more large-scale events in the future. Personally, I am not a Swiftie, but it seems gratifying to see, as a Singaporean, that such a small country, a country no one really regarded highly of in the past, could host such a global icon and even be influential enough to become the only Southeast Asian country to host her. Therefore, Swiftie or not, bask in this moment of history.
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