Wednesday 29 August 2007

ELTON JOHN TICKETS SELLING FAST
The Minister for Tourism, Arts and the Environment, Paula Wriedt, said today she was thrilled that tickets for Elton John’s Tasmanian concert were selling so quickly.

Ms Wriedt said the huge public campaign to bring Elton John to Tasmania had resulted in extraordinary demand for tickets.

“Earlier this month, I put the challenge to Tasmanians to get online and petition Elton John’s promoters to include a Tasmanian date on his latest Australian tour,” Ms Wriedt said.

“The response was staggering with 6 000 registrations of support in the first two weeks.

“This helped secure this major event and the sight of pre-dawn queues for Elton John tickets will send a strong message to other concert promoters.

“The promoters anticipated about 15 000 people would attend the concert and around 10 000 tickets have been sold in this first week.

“This has the potential to position Tasmania in general, and Aurora Stadium in particular, as being capable of hosting significant events that may not have previously considered in our island state.

“Anyone wishing to secure tickets should act swiftly to avoid being disappointed.

“The days of tickets being available on the door for major events in Tasmania are long gone.”

Ms Wriedt said there were plans to ensure Tasmanian tourism operators received the maximum benefit from Elton John’s visit.

“We know event visitors spend on average $219 per day in our state, and given the small number of concerts on this tours we expect many interstate visitors.

“Tourism Tasmania has been working with Showbiz to create 2-5 day packages for people attending the concert.
“To support these packages they have been actively involved in cooperative marketing programs with key partners.

“This project shows us that positive tourism outcomes for Tasmania can be enhanced if we engage in strategic partnerships with key players to pursue our objectives.”

For further information contact Tourism Tasmania's Communications Unit

(03) 6230 8244
email mediainfo@tourism.tas.gov.au