Vietnam-Singapore flights sold out during Taylor Swift shows

Taylor Swift's six-night The Eras Tour in Singapore will take place from March 2 to 4 and 7 to 9.

If Swifties, as the fans of the American pop star call themselves, choose to travel via third countries, the lowest fare one way is VND8 million (US$324).

Return fares between the two Vietnamese cities and Singapore on normal days are VND2.6-5 million.

Minh Anh of Hanoi, who just got a ticket for the fourth night, said she was shocked to see the airfares.

Her flight to Singapore cost over VND5 million and she is waiting for "good prices" to buy the return ticket.

She estimated it would cost her nearly VND20 million, including board to lodging, to watch Swift’s show.

Data from Agoda, the online travel booking platform, showed Vietnam was among the top five foreign markets searching for Singapore tourism during the shows along with the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia.

Swift's tour has had a strong effect on the Singapore tourism sector, with restaurants, hotels and airlines seeing demand increase sharply.

Jetstar Asia reported a 20% increase in demand for air tickets to and from places like Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta during the shows.

Edeline Tiong, general director of M Hotel Singapore, said demand for hotel rooms increased dramatically in the first two weeks of March.

Tiong's hotels have seen a 30% increase.

Most hotels are nearly fully booked despite higher prices.

At the end of February 81 Bugis Hotel charged S$120-200 (US$89-148) for a night, but is charging S$260 during March 5-7.

V Hotel Lavender’s rates have increased from an average of S$200 to S$468 until March 11.

When tickets went on sale for Swift’s concerts last year, Vietnam was among the top eight countries in terms of selling Singapore tour packages, e-commerce travel platform Klook reported.

The packages include two tickets for the show and a night's stay at a four- or five-star hotel.

Nguyen Huy Hoang, managing director of Klook Vietnam, said on the first day of sale more than 600,000 people logged into Klook, most of them from outside Singapore.

They were willing to spend more than S$1,700 for the packages.

Swift touched down in Singapore on Feb. 27, and her first concert will be at the National Stadium on March 2.

All six shows are sold out.