THE BEST LOVED Whisky Festival in the world has for the third successive year cemented its position by producing record-breaking tickets sales on their first day.
Sales for events being held at the Spirit of Speyside went on sale this week – and as they have done on the corresponding day in previous years created a new sales record.
Income increased on opening sales day by £30,000 with 794 more event tickets being snapped up – and 25 events having to put the ‘sold out’ signs up over two months before the festival begins on April 27.
Customers from all over the globe, from India to Italy and from Tanzania to Turkey, logged into the Festival website to buy their event tickets at noon on Tuesday – and in doing so also set a new record for the diversity of customers’ geographic locations recorded in the first 24 hours.
On the day of the website launching, tickets were sold in a total of 24 different countries compared to 22 in 2016, with the majority being for customers within the UK. However, Switzerland and Germany leapfrogged ahead of Scandinavian countries as the next biggest market, with the USA following very closely behind in fourth place.
A delighted Festival manager Pery Zakeri said: “After setting new opening day ticket sales records for the last couple of years, we didn’t actually think it was possible to achieve this scale of growth.
“The level of interest has been phenomenal: as more and more tickets disappeared we couldn’t quite believe what we were seeing before our eyes.
“All credit must go the many event providers for developing such a diverse programme of events that has captured the imagination of the whisky-loving public. I think this success underlines that we are a world-leading event and that for the true devotees – as well as whisky novices – it is a festival that they simply must attend.”
Ticket sale income generated on opening day stood at £121,683 and the number of individual tickets sold was 4185. However, Pery stresses that there are still hundreds of tickets available for unique activities that will only take place during the five days of the Festival.
Pery adds: “We always knew that exclusive behind the scenes tours – and events where people get to meet the key players in the Speyside whisky industry such as master distillers and expert blenders – would prove to be the most popular.
“The limited tickets on offer for many of these events sold out within a matter of hours, but even though there is still an incredibly packed programme to choose from. The Festival is very much the gold standard for whisky connoisseurs, but equally we ensure there is plenty to attract those who are not as knowledgeable about Speyside malts or indeed who have never even tasted whisky.
“We are particularly pleased to see our international market growing. We are unashamedly passionate about our whisky, and for us to share that passion with visitors from so many different countries – as well as home-grown enthusiasts – makes all the effort that goes into organising the Festival so worthwhile.”
More information about the event is available at www.spiritofspeyside.com and tickets are also available to buy on the website.