The “Swift Effect” is about to hit Southeast Asia, but Singapore has put some of its neighbors at risk, while it benefits from a tailor-made tourism boom as the star’s only stop in the region. More than 300,000 fans from across the city-state and neighboring countries will attend the American superstar’s six sold-out Erasure Tour shows at the National Stadium from March 2-9. Ingrid Delgado, a Manila graduate who is traveling to Singapore for the March 4 show, said she bought a “new shiny dress” for the occasion, but had trouble finding an affordable hotel. “It was already booked a lot, so I had to book a more expensive hotel,” he said. The Fullerton Hotels & Resorts, as well as the Fairmont Hotel, told AFP that demand for rooms had increased during the concert period.

Big spenders have picked up luxury packages at Marina Bay Sands named after Swift’s hits, such as shake it off And stay stay stay,

The hotel’s SG$50,000 ($37,230) “Wildest Dreams” package includes VIP tickets, fine dining, a hotel suite, limousine transfers and passes to tourist attractions. The hotel told AFP that all its packages were sold out.

Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines said demand for flights to Singapore had increased, but it could not be said that this was solely due to the “Swift effect”. A large contingent of Malaysian Swifties will be entering neighboring Singapore.

“It’s a dream come true. I feel excited and nervous,” said Harith Arsat, a 20-year-old student from Kuala Lumpur on his first trip abroad. In the Philippines, budget carrier Cebu Pacific changed its normal flight number for Singapore-bound flights for the period March 1–9 to “1989” – the year Swift was born and the title of her fifth album.

red carpet

However, not everyone was happy when Swift’s only Southeast Asia stop was announced, including fans and governments of some of Singapore’s neighbors. Travel to Singapore is expensive for many people in the region due to the high currency exchange rate, not to mention expensive hotel packages.

Some were also unhappy because Singapore provided a grant to help secure Swift’s record-breaking tour of the city-state. Culture Ministry and Singapore Tourism Board officials declined last week to say how much was paid, citing commercial confidentiality, or whether an exclusivity agreement was signed to make the Singapore Swift the only Southeast Asian stop. Were.

This followed reports that Prime Minister Shretha Thavisin had said at a business forum in Bangkok that Singapore had indeed struck such a deal. Singapore officials did not directly address Sritha’s comments, but said Swift’s show was “likely to bring significant benefits to the Singapore economy”.

Singapore has been rolling out the red carpet for a number of international artists such as Blackpink, Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran since lifting its COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Coldplay played six sold-out shows in January and upcoming acts include Bruno Mars, Sum 41 and Jerry Seinfeld.

“Singapore began to open up faster than others after the pandemic, helped by its first-mover advantage and concerted efforts to bring in acts, events and conferences,” Song Seng Wun, an economic adviser at CGS International, told AFP. “That momentum continues to increase.”

‘Don’t lose money quickly’

When tickets went on sale last year, millions of people clamored for them, leading to a rise in online scams targeting desperate Swifties. Singapore Police also released a social media video with the tagline: “Don’t lose money early, buy your tickets safely.”

Despite the dangers, Erico Dimas Pamungkas, 25, in Jakarta, logged in to three devices to get a ticket queue number. He said, “I’m very lucky. I think this concert is one of the most important moments for me.”

Swift has gone from a confident songwriting singer to an accomplished businesswoman and the world’s biggest pop star, and fans agree there’s a lot to learn from the 34-year-old. “I appreciate Taylor’s candor and her principles like rights, generosity and compassion,” said Singaporean pilot Spencer Ler, who stood in line for 22 hours to get tickets for his daughter and her friends. “This is something girls can learn from.”

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)