Beyond just a Swift lift to economy in first quarter - Major concerts can deliver long-term dividends for Singapore

Taylor-nomics: Taylor Swift fans pose before her concert in Singapore. Inbound flights have gone up by 186% and accommodation bookings shot up some 460% around the period of the superstar’s concerts in the island nation. — Reuters

SINGAPORE: It is not often that a performer can move an entire economy, but that is the case with American superstar Taylor Swift, who has kept economists busy crunching numbers on her economic impact in cities staging her concerts.

Some economists in Singapore had to rework data on the cost and benefit of her upcoming shows after Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said concert promoter Anschutz Entertainment Group told him that Singapore had offered Swift subsidies of up to US$3mil a show as part of an exclusive agreement.