The Swift effect may be so supercharged that it could actually nudge up Singapore’s GDP growth for the first quarter of 2024, by 0.2 percentage points.
According to a Bloomberg report, economist Han Teng Chua said that it was mainly supported by higher tourist spending due to the large number of overseas fans attending the concerts in Singapore.
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Chua noted that the Eras Tour benefited Singapore’s hospitality, food and beverage, and retail activities.
Between Mar. 1 and Mar. 9, Swift played six concerts for about 300,000 fans in Singapore, where 70 per cent of the concertgoers were flying in from overseas, CNN reported.
Trip.com’s general manager also told CNN that inbound flights into Singapore rose by 186 per cent, and accommodation bookings grew almost fourfold during Swift’s stay.
Based on a median estimate in a Bloomberg survey, Economists upgraded their first-quarter growth forecast for Singapore, stating that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will probably expand by 2.9 percent in the three months ending Mar. 31, 2024.
Local vs foreign spending
However, it appears that the Swift Effect may not be replicated in every leg of her tour.
According to the Australian Financial Review, quoting KPMG chief economist Brendan Rynne, Swift’s Australia shows is expected to add just A$10 million (S$8.8 million) to the national economy.
This is largely because 98 per cent of ticket sales went to local Australians, which would have no net economic effect on the quarterly GDP.
“Technically any spend associated with these patrons is just a transfer from one category of spending (or saving) to another – in this instance Tay Tay,” Rynne said.
However, if international visitors fly into Australia to catch Swift in action, their spending would count as a tourism export in the books.