Flight tickets sold out, tours to Singapore to see Taylor Swift scarce

The attraction of Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour show has caused airfares from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to increase. Some days, direct flights are sold out and hotel prices have increased.

Taylor Swift's six shows of The Eras Tour in Singapore will take place on March 2-4 and March 7-9. A survey by VnExpress on March 1 showed that there are no more direct flights from Hanoi to Singapore from March 1 to March 3. The lowest connecting flight ticket price is 8-10 million VND one way. As of March 4, there will be a direct flight for this route with a price of 11 million VND one way. There are no more tickets for the route from Ho Chi Minh City on the above dates and March 5.

Ticket office data from Best Price shows that during normal times, airfare from Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore ranges from about 2.6 to 5 million VND round trip.

If you buy your show tickets early, you will be more proactive in choosing flight times and hotel rooms at reasonable prices. Thao Quyen, who lives in Ho Chi Minh City, was able to buy show tickets for VND5 million from mid-2023; round-trip airfare costs VND4.5 million and about VND14 million for three nights in a hotel (VND10 million for the first night at a luxury hotel and VND4 million for the next two nights at a budget hotel).

Taylor Swift at the Pittsburgh show, part of the Eras tour, June 17, 2023. Photo: Taylor Swift X — Taylor Swift at the Pittsburgh show, part of the Eras tour, June 17, 2023. Photo *: Taylor Swift X*

However, not everyone is lucky enough to get tickets early on the opening day. Minh Anh, who lives in Hanoi, just bought tickets for the fourth night of the show from an online seller a week ago, admitted to being "shocked" when looking for plane tickets. She just bought a ticket for the flight on March 6, flying directly from Hanoi for more than 5 million VND. In the near future, she will "watch" to buy a return flight ticket at a good price. If she stays in Singapore for two nights, Minh Anh estimates it will cost nearly 20 million VND, just counting the plane ticket and hotel room.

Data from Agoda, an online travel booking platform, shows that Vietnam is among the top 4 foreign markets searching for Singapore tourism the most during the show, alongside the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

Taylor Swift's tour has had a strong impact on many services in Singapore such as restaurants, hotels, and airlines, with demand increasing by about 30%. Jestar Asia recorded a 20% increase in demand for air tickets for flights connecting destinations such as Bangkok, Manila, and Jakarta to Singapore during the show. M Hotel Singapore's general manager, Edeline Tiong, said demand for rooms at local hotels increased sharply in the first two weeks of March. Tiong's hotel alone recorded a 30% increase in demand from Southeast Asian customers.

Hotels in Singapore have also seen a surge in occupancy and prices. At the end of February, 81 Bugis Hotel had a nightly rate of around SGD 120-200 (VND 2.1-3.6 million) but increased to SGD 260 (VND 4.7 million) during March 5-7. V Hotel Lavender also increased from an average of SGD 200 per night to SGD 468 (VND 8.5 million) during this period and will return to normal from March 12.

Responding to VnExpress , Mr. Nguyen Huy Hoang, CEO of Klook Vietnam, said that tourists who combine tours with shows spend 4-5 times the ticket price. The increased spending mainly goes to local businesses such as restaurants, hotels, and destination experience activities.

Klook created packages for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour in Singapore – combining attractions, food, hotels and concert tickets. On the day it launched, over 600,000 international fans, mostly tourists from outside Singapore, were waiting in line on the app. They were willing to spend over SGD 1,700 (nearly VND 32 million) for the package, which sold out within hours. Vietnam ranked 8th on the list of markets buying the most packages.

According to Mr. Hoang, tourists are increasingly in need of traveling for large-scale events, typically music events, especially among Gen Z and Millennials (30-45 years old). The larger the events, the greater the economic benefits thanks to the high spending level when they look for additional services and experiences during the trip.

Klook noted that demand for these accompanying activities increased by 50% during major events such as concerts in Singapore. Particularly for Vietnamese tourists, the supplier recorded a demand for booking travel services in Singapore increased by more than 60% in February 2024 compared to the previous month and this number is still increasing strongly as the concert approaches.

Universal Studio in Singapore. Photo: Isango — Universal Studio in Singapore. Photo: *Isango*

This week, Klook saw a significant increase in visitor interest in Singapore’s entertainment offerings. The most searched for were Universal Studios Singapore and Gardens By The Bay. Ahead of Taylor Swift’s concert, Klook also saw a 50% increase in bookings for the Klook Singapore Pass, which allows visitors to experience all of Singapore’s most iconic attractions in one travel pass.

The Eras Tour’s impact on tourism is evidenced by the numbers that the American cities that saw it earn money from it. $5 billion is a figure often cited in statistics about American fan spending on the Eras Tour. However, in reality, the U.S. Travel Association estimates that the total revenue generated from the tour was more than $10 billion.

In Vietnam, there are almost no travel companies that offer tour packages combined with show viewing. Mr. Nguyen Tien Dat, General Director of AZA Travel, said that accessing official ticket sources to enjoy discounts is still difficult, and black market ticket prices are too high.

Travel agencies in Vietnam are not lacking in experience in creating event tourism packages, typically World Cup tours. However, World Cup matches are long and diverse in demand and supply. With Taylor Swift’s show, demand is higher than supply, creating a shortage and difficulty in accessing tickets.

On the other hand, a popular tour to Singapore costs around 10 million VND. In case of unsold tickets, travel agencies can reduce the price by 10-20% for last-minute tickets to recover capital. If they combine tickets to shows, they worry that the tour price will be pushed up too high, making it difficult to liquidate if there is inventory left.

Representatives of some travel agencies in Vietnam admitted that they have not really approached the group of young people who travel to see music shows (around 25-40 years old). Therefore, they are cautious in building this product.

"The biggest problem is that supply and demand have not met. I think this niche product line has a lot of potential to be exploited, but not at the moment," said a representative of a travel agency in Hanoi.

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