KUALA LUMPUR: To attract more tourists to Thailand, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin plans to subsidise future Taylor Swift concerts in the country, following the footsteps of neighbouring Singapore.
Thainewsroom reported yesterday that Srettha said at the recent iBusiness Forum 2024 in Bangkok that his government wanted to subsidise the concerts of popular international artistes such as Swift with 500 million baht (RM14.3 million) to attract more of their fans to Thailand.
"This will boost sponsorship and tourism in Thailand. And it is not only Taylor Swift but other international recording artistes with a strong following," said Srettha.
"Neighbouring Singapore did just that, and as a result, Swift will be entertaning fans in Singapore for six nights - March 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9 soon."
Srettha added that government support was vital for big names in rock and pop music to make Thailand a major destination in Southeast Asia.
"If we want the likes of Swift, Beyonce and Coldplay to perform in Thailand, we have to provide great incentives for their concerts to happen."
British rock band Coldplay entertained more than 60,000 fans at Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium on Feb 3 and 4 as part of their Music Of The Spheres Tour.