Indonesia looks to Singapore’s ‘Swiftonomics’ success to boost tourism, but can it sustain creative industry?

US pop sensation Taylor Swift will perform at Singapore’s National Stadium from March 2 to 9 for six sold-out shows, which could generate hundreds of millions in tourism revenue for the country as more than 300,000 fans are expected to attend.

“Hosting megastars like Taylor Swift may sound impressive and prestigious, but ultimately it’s not what sustains the industry, which needs a steadier stream of events, especially for a country the size of Indonesia,” Teguh Wicaksono, a music entrepreneur and co-founder of Indonesia’s digital contemporary music archival project Sounds From The Corner, told This Week in Asia.

Sandiaga Uno, Indonesia’s minister of tourism, told Bloomberg on February 18 that “we need what Singapore and Australia managed to pull off, which is to bring in Taylor Swift. We need Swiftonomics in Indonesia.”

To this end, Sandiaga said his ministry had launched the Indonesia Tourism Fund, with a seed fund worth 2 trillion rupiah (US$128 million). He said the fund was set up to help the country bid for “music, sports and cultural events deemed capable of generating a multiplier effect for Indonesia’s tourism”.

“The alleged monetary compensation offered by Singapore to bind Swift to perform exclusively there has obviously ruffled some feathers in Jakarta,” said Gancar Premananto, economist at Surabaya’s Airlangga University.

“The exclusive contract has caused a scarcity effect that forces Swifties across Southeast Asia to head for Singapore in order to see their idol perform live, resulting in maximum economic benefits for Singapore in the process.”

Gancar said the minister’s aspiration to “replicate Swiftonomics” for Indonesia’s benefit was understandable, although it would not be without its challenges.

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