Our special correspondent in Singapore Xin Bin
American pop music superstar Taylor Swift (Taylor Swift) has passed the halfway point of her "Times Tour" Singapore stop, but her popularity continues unabated. Even Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who visited Australia on the 5th, also talked about this sensational tour in Southeast Asia at the press conference. When asked whether Singapore's efforts to become the only venue in Southeast Asia for Swift's concert had caused dissatisfaction from other Southeast Asian countries, Lee Hsien Loong responded that Singapore's bid for exclusive hosting rights was a "successful arrangement" and not an "unfriendly move." ".
Chen Shenghui, Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of Singapore, also publicly stated on the 5th that Singapore is a regional hub. After arriving in Singapore, some tourists continue to other tourist attractions in the region, which is very important for neighboring countries. Also helpful.
"Global Times" special correspondent is based in Singapore. A few days before the opening of Swift's concert, he intuitively felt that Singapore, a small country with a population of several million, suddenly became crowded: the queue time for visiting and eating has obviously become longer. The bus has to be crowded. In addition, there are many more young tourists on the streets of Singapore, and many of them wear “Taylor Swift” elements in their outfits. It is understood that the ticket prices for this concert range from US$88 to US$1,228.
A fan from Penang, Malaysia told a special reporter of the Global Times that it cost her a month's salary to come to see Swift's concert, but she felt it was "worth the money." The reporter's children also said that their classmates at school have been discussing the Swift concert these days. One of the classmates said that his Indonesian relatives stayed at his house when they came to watch the concert. "The house is a bit crowded and noisy."
According to preliminary estimates, Swift's concerts contributed nearly US$400 million to Singapore's economy. Singapore’s Minister of Culture, Community and Youth, Tang Zhenhui, said that Swift’s concert will bring huge economic benefits to Singapore. He emphasized that the concert will have many direct economic benefits, including an increase in the number of tourists, which will increase Singapore's income from transportation, hotel accommodation, entertainment, retail and catering. Erika Tai, head of macro research at Bank of Malaysia, said that assuming about 70% of the concert audience flew from overseas, Swift's concert is expected to bring in tourism revenue of US$260 million to US$370 million.
Singapore's "Straits Times" reported on the 6th that the controversy caused by "Taylor Swift" choosing to hold six consecutive concerts in Singapore shows that the tourism industry in the era of globalization needs to "cleverly attract" similar economic multipliers. ▲
