TOURIST arrivals across Asia have yet to return to pre-Covid levels. But, as travel resumes, countries in the region are competing to attract travellers. Singapore has lately been building itself into a global entertainment hub. In the wake of this year’s Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, which was held in September, more sports and entertainment events are expected to bolster tourism in the Lion City.

Thousands will travel there in early 2024 as British rock band Coldplay and American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift are scheduled to perform, each in a series of six dates at the National Stadium. Airlines, airport services and entertainment companies all stand to benefit.

Airlines

As the national carrier of the city-state, Singapore Airlines is at the forefront of the country’s reopening. The airline group reported a record annual profit of S$2.2 billion for its latest fiscal year, after a S$948 million loss the previous year. Singapore Airlines may continue its strong performance in both its fundamentals and its share price.

While its peer group had largely similar passenger load factors, a measure of how many of its planes’ seats are filled when they fly, Singapore Airlines had been leading the pack since 2022, and analysts expect the margin to be sustained till 2025.

Airport services

As Singapore sees growth in the number of flights and air passengers, flight catering and gateway services companies are also poised for a strong rebound. Using supply chain analysis, you can find that Singapore Airlines’ suppliers include SATS, Singapore-based gateway services and food provider.

Singapore Airlines appears as a supplier to SATS as well as one of its customers, like other carriers such as Cathay Pacific and Air France-KLM. SATS accounts for about 80 per cent of Changi Airport’s airline catering and air-cargo services market and may have an edge over rivals in this sector to capitalise on gains in the hub’s traffic growth.

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Entertainment

Concerts by stars such as Swift have provided notable boosts for local hospitality industries. The US city of Chicago, for example, set a record for its rate of hotel occupancy during the three-day stint of her Eras Tour, according to reporting by Bloomberg News.

The chart shows how Unusual’s shares jumped from cheap to rich relative to peers on price to book value. BLOOMBERG