The 30-year-old software engineer, who leads a Filipino group of Swifties, as the singer’s fans are called, arrived from Manila on Friday with 17 friends.
She spends at least $6,000 on her flights, concert tickets and accommodation. This is slightly higher than the average annual household income in his country of origin.
“It’s the most money I’ve ever spent on a concert. I’ve never really spent a lot… on anyone else, just on Taylor Swift,” said Suizo, who shelled out for a VIP ticket costing more than 1,000 Singapore dollars ($745). She plans to attend three of Swift’s six performances in Singapore.
Suizo is among thousands of Swifties descending on Singapore this week from across Southeast Asia to attend the American star’s Eras tour, giving the flagging local economy a much-needed boost .
Swift is playing six sold-out nights in Singapore this week, her only stop in Southeast Asia.
Chua Hak Bin, an economist at Maybank, estimates that seven in ten out of 300,000 spectators will come from overseas and spend between S$350 million and S$500 million ($260 million to $370 million) on hotels, food and entertainment.
For comparison, the Singapore F1 Grand Prix has generated about S$2 billion ($1.5 billion) in tourism revenue since its launch in 2008, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
Meanwhile, HSBC analysts say hotel rooms in Singapore now cost 30% more than pre-pandemic in 2019.
Edmund Ong, managing director of Trip.com Singapore, said that from March 1 to 9, the cost of flights to Singapore almost tripled while accommodation bookings increased almost fivefold. Bookings for attractions and tours increased by more than 2,300%.
Economic growth in Singapore slowed to 1.1% last year, from 3.8% in 2022, with growth of 1-3% expected this year, according to the government.
Last month, the government announced it had awarded Swift a grant to perform in Singapore. The amount was not disclosed, but said the concerts were “likely to generate significant benefits for the Singapore economy, particularly for tourism activities such as hospitality, retail, travel and Restoration”.
The announcement irked other countries in the region, with Thailand’s prime minister saying the grant was provided on the condition that it be Swift’s only show in Southeast Asia, while a Philippine lawmaker said declared that “that’s not what good neighbors do.” The Singapore government has not confirmed the exclusivity clause.
Singapore has seen a concert boom since the end of pandemic lockdowns, with big names like Blackpink, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran playing sold-out shows.
