The Swift lift that Singapore malls need

SINGAPORE’S Taylor Swift coup may have stirred Bad Blood among its neighbours, but there’s no denying that the pop superstar’s six nights in this town brought huge benefits.  

One economist who crunched the numbers put the Swift lift at S$300 million to S$400 million, or 0.2 percentage points of GDP, to Singapore’s economy in the first quarter. All this, for the mere S$20 million or so (reportedly) that was handed out to secure the “only in Singapore” billing for the Eras tour. 

There is much Tay-hay to be made when the sun shines. 300,000 concert tickets sold = a very large number of wealthy foreigners landing here, paying higher-than-peak rates for their hotel stays and splashing out around town.