As each stadium concert accommodates between 50,000 and 80,000 fans, and with some artists performing over several nights in a single venue, a significant number of people are flocking to those host cities – many from outside the local area or even the country – in what has been billed as music tourism or concert travel.

“We were unable to purchase any concert tickets in Hong Kong so we decided to try our luck with Singapore instead,” she says. “The trip wasn’t originally planned, but after successfully buying the concert tickets we decided to combine the concert with a vacation to explore Singapore’s tourist attractions.”

Taylor Swift’s Singapore shows leave Malaysian, Thai, Filipino fans dismayed

Chung and her family were not alone. YouTube and TikTok are awash with Blackpink fans (Blinks), mainly from the Philippines and Malaysia, who flew to Singapore to see their idols on their Born Pink tour – which began on October 15, last year, in Seoul, South Korea, and will conclude on August 26, in Los Angeles, in the United States.

Many others flew to Bangkok and even Sydney. Most stayed between four and six days in these destinations, visiting attractions, shopping and feasting at well-known restaurants.

A recent survey in Britain commissioned by ticket resale site Viagogo has found that 63 per cent of respondents had been on a holiday combined with a concert or music festival – the most popular destinations being Paris, Barcelona and Rome.

With Coldplay’s tour continuing into 2024, including dates in Manila, Singapore and Bangkok; and Taylor Swift announcing concerts in Japan and Singapore, music tourism looks set to be a potent force in Asia soon.

Hongkonger Joycie Lai will be among the Swifties crossing borders to see the American superstar.

Blackpink concert tour puts Asia back on post-Covid globalisation track

“I have actually never been to Singapore before so I’ll definitely be checking out the classic touristy spots like Merlion Park, Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands,” she says.

Travel operators and hotels have already experienced the effects of Swiftenomics, as it has been called.

“We saw demand for Singapore accommodation soar when tickets went on sale for Taylor Swift’s six shows [which will take place in March],” says Omri Morgenshtern, chief executive of online travel platform Agoda.

“There were 160 times more searches than usual. The spike was mostly driven by interest from Southeast Asia. Philippines led the pack, followed by Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.”

Its packages for four- and five-star hotels sold out within two hours. The Intercontinental was the most popular choice of hotel, followed by the Grand Copthorne Waterfront.

Most of the fans who booked through Klook were from the Philippines, mainland China and Indonesia, followed by Hong Kong; Hongkongers were the most likely to book five-star hotels, according to Kenny Sham Ho-ki, general manager of Klook Hong Kong and Macau.

Accor, the largest hotel group in Singapore, with over 30 properties under several brands, has also noticed the Taylor Swift effect.

“Within the economy segment, we are already witnessing an upsurge in hotel bookings over March 2024, with some properties already fully booked over the Taylor Swift concert dates,” says a spokesman for Accor Asia.

Singapore basks in concert hub status after scoring Coldplay, Taylor Swift gigs

The group has seen a similar surge in interest for its Sydney and Melbourne hotels coinciding with Swift’s concert dates in Australia next February.

Bookings for Sydney, where the singer will play four nights at the aptly named Accor Stadium in front of a total of 300,000 people, are up 180 per cent, while those for Melbourne are up tenfold compared to the previous year, the chief executive officer of Accor Pacific, Sarah Derry, says.

Back in Singapore, Marina Bay Sands is preparing to lure Taylor Swift fans with yet-to-be-unveiled “exclusive packages” and “fringe activities” to tie in with her concerts.