SINGAPORE – After standing in line for 36 hours, Qayyum Lukman on Friday, July 7, emerged triumphant from a kiosk where he had just scored tickets to see pop sensation Taylor Swift perform in Singapore, her only stop in Southeast Asia next year.r to Singapore next March, Lukman will be one of the 300,000 fans – called “Swifties” – in the audience for one of the six shows in the city-state.
But many “Swifties” across the region of more than half a billion, couldn’t get a ticket, partly as a result of a post-pandemic spike in demand for concerts and entertainment. The demand has led to rising prices that some economists have termed Holders of UOB bank credit cards were given preferred access, prompting a 45% surge in daily credit card applications in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam the week Swift announced her concert dates, according to media.
Amid the ticket frenzy for Swift this week, Singapore’s central bank was even asked if concerts like hers would add to inflation woes, while the Business Times reported a spike in prices for flights and hotels the week “Taytay” performs on the island.