Singapore hotel and airfares for March 2024 spike ahead of ticket sales for Taylor Swift concerts

EVEN before the release of tickets for Taylor Swift’s concerts in Singapore, prices have already jumped for some hotels and regional flights during that period.

The international pop star is scheduled to play six concerts between Mar 2 and Mar 9, 2024. During that stretch, room rates have jumped by more than 20 per cent at some three- and four-star hotels in Singapore.

For instance, a single room at the four-star Parkroyal on Beach Road will cost S$478 during that period – 22.6 per cent more than the S$390 rate in the seven days before, and 35 per cent more than the S$354 rate for the seven days after.

Room rates at comparable hotels echo this trend for that period, based on data retrieved from Trip.com this week.

A single room at Yotel Singapore Orchard Road will cost S$319 during the concert duration, up from S$232 in the period before and S$285 in the period after.

At Village Hotel Sentosa by Far East Hospitality, a concert-period room will cost S$402, against S$336 before and S$345 after. A room at Harbour Ville Hotel will cost S$217 during that stretch, compared with S$172 before and S$181 after.

Airfares from some regional capital cities to Singapore have also spiked, based on Trip.com data this week.

From Jakarta to Singapore, a one-way economy flight on low-cost carrier Scoot costs S$128 on Mar 1, the day before Swift’s first show in the Republic. This is almost treble the price of a similar flight just the week before, with fares as low as S$45.

On Mar 2, the day of the opening concert, single tickets from Jakarta start at S$157. For the week after the concert period, the cheapest Scoot ticket from Jakarta costs S$92.

Prices for Jakarta-Singapore flights around Swift’s concert dates were also higher for carriers such as Indonesia AirAsia, Jetstar Asia and Singapore Airlines. A Singapore Airlines ticket costs around S$266 in early March, up from S$202 in the preceding and following periods.

From Manila, only some carriers showed an increase in prices. An economy flight on Jetstar Asia cost at least S$223 on Mar 1, up from as low as S$163 the week before and in the post-concert week.

For some routes, flight prices stay elevated after the final concert on Mar 9. For Scoot flights from both Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, ticket prices are higher from Mar 10, the week after Swift’s concerts.

However, as that stretch coincides with Singapore’s school holidays from Mar 9 to 17, some of the inbound flight demand could be from Singaporeans returning from vacation.

Swift announced three Singapore concert dates on Jun 21, and added three more on Jun 25.

Based on data from travel booking platform Expedia, inbound flight search increased by 2.5 times on Jun 21 and two times on Jun 25, compared to the last seven-day average, said Lavinia Rajaram, travel expert and Asia public relations director for Expedia Brands.

Hotel searches also increased two times after the first set of concerts were announced, and by 1.5 times after the show additions.

“While a large portion (over 30 per cent) of the inbound flight searches were from the US, Expedia data also indicates travel interest from South-east Asian travellers (10 per cent), including the Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia,” she said.

Enric Casals, Agoda regional associate vice-president of South-east Asia, said that the travel booking platform has also already noted a surge in search activity for the concert period, especially from Indonesia and Malaysia.

“Singapore is the only South-east Asia stop for Taylor Swift’s tour, and it seems fans from surrounding countries are checking hotel prices before deciding whether they will try to secure tickets when they go on sale,” he added.

“We anticipate a sharp spike following the actual sale next week, much like what we saw when Coldplay went on sale last week. It’s already clear these concerts will be huge for Singapore’s travel industry.”

Presales for Swift’s The Eras Tour begin on Jul 5 for UOB cardholders. General sales open on Jul 7.

Marina Bay Sands, the official presenting partner of the tour in Singapore, will offer a package that bundles the concert ticket with a hospitality experience. Klook, the official experience partner for the event, will also offer packages.

Details for both partners’ ticket bundles have yet to be announced.

Additional reporting by Paige Lim