Taylor Swift is back in town. Not exactly our town but one just a stone’s throw away.
The superstar’s chartered aircraft touched down at the Seletar Airport in Singapore just after 5pm on Tuesday for another leg of her worldwide The Eras Tour.
But long before her arrival, Swift’s fans (for those still not in the know, they are called swifties) were already going gaga over her impending stop.
But backstage, another act was already in progress.
The Singaporeans picked up on something the rest of us never saw. Everyone knows the potential economic gains that can be derived from Swift’s appearance, but Singapore was the first to invest in it.
Thai Prime Minister Strettha Thavasin recently claimed that the island republic has offered Swift US$2 million to US$3 million (RM9.5 million to RM14.3 million) per show for the duration of her appearance there on the condition that she does not make an appearance elsewhere in the region.
With six shows lined up from today to March 9 (with a two-day break in between), Swift will pocket US$12 million to US$18 million (RM55 million to RM83 million) without selling a single ticket.
According to a report on todayonline.com, the Singapore Tourism Board neither confirmed nor denied the claim but admitted that it indeed gave a grant to support the event.
Assuming it did, that was a small investment compared with the potential gains.
Economist Erica Tay of Maybank Investment Bank Group has estimated that Swift’s appearance in Singapore will generate S$350 million to S$500 million in tourism receipts.
That is a whopping RM1.6 billion to RM2.3 billion for just a couple of weeks of playing host.
That, of course, is on the premise that around 70% of the concert goers will be flying in from elsewhere.
That certainly isn’t very far off the mark. Swift has a large following across Southeast Asia, with many of them likely from Malaysia.
Fans who fly in from elsewhere will check into hotels, eat at the local restaurants and may even extend their stay to shop or do the touristy thing.
Given that many of her fans are young children, parents will have to accompany them, increasing their spending further.
Indonesia may have missed out on the Swift jackpot but the country has already put in place a new strategy to take the stage for future concerts.
The Indonesian government recently announced that it has established a tourism fund to bid for superstar concerts. It is investing a billion rupiah (just over RM300 million) in the venture.
The strategy, aptly dubbed “Swiftnomics” entails getting popular artistes to perform in the archipelago to woo tourists, get them to stay longer and thus spend more.
The country will also waive visa requirements for more countries and simplify permits for domestic event organisers to hold large-scale performances, according to CNBC Indonesia.
Taylor Swift’s attire aside, Malaysia is not having any of this.
We have an aversion to anything that does not conform with our version of good values.
But then again, who is going to stop us from travelling south for the experience.
So nobody actually loses.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.