News that the 2018 Olympics have sold a huge amount of tickets for the upcoming Winter Olympics are making organizers pleased with their marketing plan to date.
This is from Inside The Games letting us know or the current state of ticket sales.
The figure, which includes domestic and international sales, may come as a relief to organisers as it shows a significant increase from two months ago.
Of the 1.07 million tickets available it’s reported that 655,000 were sold in October when the figure was just 30.3 %.
Skiing events have proved to be the most popular with 81% of Alpine tickets sold and cross-country events just two per cent behind.
Short track speed skating has also sold relatively well with 74% of tickets sold.
However, after reports that organisations such as banks were buying up tickets to help with sales figures, it is uncertain who has acquired the latest batch.
Two sports which could be worried by the latest update are biathlon and Nordic Combined, both of which are yet to hit the 50 per cent-sold mark with biathlon on 41 per cent and Nordic Combined on 47 per cent.
The Opening Ceremony, which will take place at the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium, has sold 67% of its tickets with its Closing Ceremony counterpart currently on 35 per cent.
According to Yonhap, the event’s Organising Committee say that ticket sales have increased dramatically due to the start of the Torch Relay, which began in South Korea on November 1.
The Organising Committee also claim that the recent opening of the new high-speed railway between Seoul and Pyeongchang will further increase ticket sales.
Benefits for Olympic ticket holders include discounts on train tickets, free access to shuttle buses and toll exemptions on highways to Pyeongchang and other hosting areas.
After recording sales figures of just 0.2 per cent for the Winter Paralympics in early October, Yonhap have now reported that this figure has increased to 37 per cent with 81,000 of the 220,000 tickets available having been sold.
The Pyeongchang Winter Olympics will take place from February 9 to 25 with the Paralympics scheduled from March 9 to 18.
Train
During Pyeongchang 2018, the Korea Train eXpress (KTX) will take up to 20,910 passengers each day from Incheon International Airport to Jinbu and Gangneung Stations, it is claimed.
Jinbu will be the main station for the Alpensia Olympic Park.
Korea Railroad (Korail) plan to operate 51 trains daily.
The journey time for spectators coming from South Korea’s capital Seoul will be 67 minutes.
It will take one hour 50 minutes from Incheon International Airport but will only operate between February 1 and 28 for the Olympic Games, due to take place between February 9 and 25.
Passengers from Incheon International Airport during the Paralympic Games, scheduled to be held between March 8 and 18, will have to change at Seoul
Tickets for local and international visitors can be purchased online from Korail by clicking here.
A one-way trip from Incheon International Airport Station to Jinbu Station starts from ₩35,000 (£24/$33/€27)
International visitors also have the option of purchasing the “PyeongChang Korail Pass” which can be used for travel throughout South Korea from February 1 to March 25.
Last week, South Korea’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun called on North Korea to participate at Pyeongchang 2018, which he says should be a Games “for peace”.
It comes as tension continues to rise between North Korea – located just 50 miles north of Pyeongchang – and the United States.
“The Olympics is a big event and if an international problem happens it will worry many people,” Seoul resident Ahn Ju-young was reported as saying by AFP before boarding the train today.
“As a South Korean, I really hope there aren’t any problems.”
