Taylor Swift is making Southeast Asia shake

TPO – In recent days, Singapore is a country that has been talked about a lot by the media, after the deal to invite Taylor Swift to perform exclusively. To do that, the lion island nation had to pay a high price for the female singer, leading to the consequence of “Southeast Asia rising up” because of the competition for the female singer.

According to ST, Singapore’s exclusive rights to Taylor Swift ‘s Eras Tour from March 2 to March 9 is an honor and economic benefit, but the price is not cheap.

Initially, experts said that Singapore had to spend more than 18 million USD for the female singer’s six shows. In an interview with CNA , Culture Minister Edwin Tong said “not to the extent”, but affirmed that the number is not small.

Singapore’s “leapfrog” action made Southeast Asia stir. Thailand and the Philippines are the first two countries in the region to criticize Singapore for monopolizing Taylor Swift for economic development.

“This is not what good neighbors should do, I object,” said a Philippine lawmaker.

According to BBC , Taylor Swift is a famous name throughout Southeast Asia, home to about 700 million people. Young people from the alleys in Ho Chi Minh City to every corner of Bangkok, everywhere have fans of the female singer born in 1989.

Therefore, for many people, especially foreign officials, the fact that Taylor Swift’s six concerts only took place in Singapore was a shock.

Southeast Asia cannot sit still

Currently, experts use the term Swiftonomics to refer to Taylor Swift bringing economic benefits to the country where she holds her concert. After the statistics of Eras Tours with billions of dollars in revenue, Southeast Asia is eager to invite female singers, the biggest goal is to revive the economy.

However, experts say that getting Taylor Swift’s attention is not easy. In addition to having a big deal, the stage must ensure the level of international stars, for now only Singapore can do that.

Each night of Taylor Swift’s Singapore concert attracts more than 50,000 spectators.

In return, Singapore has a bumper harvest.

According to ST, the number of hotel bookings in March 2024 increased dramatically from the end of 2023. The number of flight bookings to and from Singapore during the Eras Tour increased 6 times.

As the tangible impacts of Swiftonomics became a reality, leaders across Southeast Asia felt uneasy.

Mr. Ly Gia Sieu, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Region , China, said Hong Kong is constantly making efforts to attract major entertainment events and international artists to perform. He said “finding every way to bring singers back to Hong Kong, China” after hearing news that Singapore invited Taylor Swift to perform exclusively.

Meanwhile, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said the country tries to do more to attract A-list stars and world-class artists. Thai leaders “played big” when announcing a review of the tourist visa regime and changing alcohol drinking regulations at concerts.

While Singapore was busy with Taylor Swift’s 6 concerts, Indonesia announced a big spending spree, trying to impress international artists with their performances.

The Indonesian government established a tourism fund worth 1 trillion rupiah (about 64 million USD) to attract foreign artists. “We need Swiftonomics for Indonesia. It brings great benefits to the retail and tourism sectors,” said Sandiaga Uno, Indonesian Minister of Tourism.

Meanwhile, Indonesian economist Josua Pardede said that the region’s largest music companies are located in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. International artists will “regret” if they don’t try to hold a concert in the land of thousands of islands.

As evidence of that, Josua said Ed Sheeran performed in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and the March destination was Indonesia. The expert from Indonesia is also proud that Indonesia is the only stop in Asia of the Grammy-nominated indie folk band Fleet Foxes in 2023.

“There has never been such a stir in Southeast Asia, just because of Taylor Swift,” Dr. Samer Hajjar, senior marketing lecturer at NUS Business School , told ST.

Southeast Asian youth flock to Singapore

After the authorities successfully invited Taylor Swift to perform exclusively, a wave of fans flocked to Singapore, creating an unprecedented bustling scene.

Since the end of February, every day tens of thousands of people around the world have landed at Singapore’s Changi airport. This situation is expected to last until March 9 (because Swift’s show is sold out, with more than 50,000 tickets each night, a total of 6 shows with more than 300,000 spectators).

But to go to Singapore to see their idols perform, many fans have to struggle.

Singapore’s currency, one of Asia’s most valuable, has long been a deterrent to tourists. But for the chance to see their idol, many of her fans are willing to spend a lot of money.

A girl flying from Shenzhen, China to Singapore said she and her friend spent $900/person just on air tickets. They had to ask to stay at a friend’s house because the hotel was full and expensive.

Marina Bay Sands, the city’s most luxurious hotel, announced that it has sold out its “Swift package” worth $37,000, including 4 VIP tickets and 3 nights in a suite. That shows the willingness of Taylor Swift’s fans to spend.

For audiences with lower economic conditions, they are willing to gather money to watch the show. Allen Dungca, 22 years old, Philippines, took his savings to Singapore.

They would take the four-hour bus to Manila, stay overnight at an airport motel, then take the dawn trip to Singapore. Allen Dungca said he spent weeks desperately hunting for tickets, then was lucky enough to find a ticket for about 400 USD.

From young people to celebrities, everyone can’t stand still because of Taylor Swift.

“I was lucky to buy a ticket for about 300 USD. Meanwhile, resale tickets cost up to thousands of dollars. Before that, I was almost scammed by guys online,” Allen Dungca said.

Allen Dungca estimates that flying to Singapore costs about 1,500 USD, equal to the monthly income of a working family in the Philippines.

“Currently I am a student with a part-time job and can meet my wants and needs. It would be very sad if all of Southeast Asia flocked to Singapore but fans like me stayed home,” Dungca said. more.

When coming to Singapore, the country is famous for its modernity, cleanliness, and good infrastructure. In return, costs in the Lion Island are never cheap. But that doesn’t stop fans from spending a lot to meet their idols.

Nicole Liel, KOL, online content creator, said that in February, she sat on a plane for 7 hours to go to Melbourne, Australia to watch Taylor Swift perform. At that time, she spent a total of 2,540 USD. When she heard that the female singer was holding a concert in Singapore, Liel continued to spend money to go see the concert.

Nicole Liel said she knew that spending money to watch Taylor Swift’s show was considered by some people to be irresponsible with her finances. However, she said that she was motivated to overcome difficulties when listening to the female singer’s music.

Besides the normal fan audience, many celebrities across Asia flew to Singapore to see Taylor Swift perform.

In Vietnam, from actor Ly Hung, Miss Do My Linh, sisters Thieu Bao Trang and Thieu Bao Tram, singer Min… showed off their check-in moment at Taylor Swift’s show. MC Thanh Thanh Huyen said she spent 22 million VND on tickets, 7 million on transportation fees, not including hotel costs, clothes…

The most notable star who came to see Taylor Swift was Lisa. BlackPink group members have the privilege of having their own entrance and separate seats. After the show, she was also able to go backstage to interact with senior singers. The moment two globally famous female stars hugged each other caused a stir on social networks.

As ST puts it, from popular audiences, everyday people to stars, they have contributed to Taylor Swift stirring up Southeast Asia in the media in recent days.