Olympics-Winter Games ticket demand ramped up late, On Location president says

By Rory Carroll

MILAN, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Demand for Winter Olympics tickets has risen later than for other major sports events, with fans committing after the holiday season and continuing purchases into the Games' second week, On Location president Paul Caine said.

"With the Olympics, there's a varying degree of when the desire begins," Caine told Reuters on Saturday.

"In this particular Winter Games, it feels like the holidays came upon us and people started to decide they wanted to go after that," he added referring to Christmas and New Year.

"Even now, we're halfway through the Games and people are still buying and then getting on planes to come here. So it's interesting how the demand curve changes."

Fans packed the streets around the Arco della Pace, where one of two Olympic cauldrons dazzled tourists and locals over the weekend as enthusiasm for the Games appeared to be surging.

Organisers on Monday said total ticket sales have topped 1.3 million at the halfway mark, and were rising daily.

"Yesterday, we sold 108,000 tickets," Games spokesman Luca Casassa said at a press conference.

"We are extremely happy with the sold tickets. Spectators have responded extremely well to the Games," he said.

"We can see that in the number of sold tickets, which keeps increasing day by day. It is a linear increase, and we believe it will continue during the second week."

On Sunday Italy set a national Winter Olympics record as Federica Brignone's giant slalom gold capped a four‑medal surge that lifted the hosts' tally to 22. Italy's success on the snow and ice has fuelled domestic support for the Games.

REGIONAL BUYING HABITS

Differences in the timing of ticket and hospitality purchases for major international sporting events often reflect regional buying habits, Caine said.

Americans typically purchase earlier while European and some Asian customers tend to decide later, a pattern he said can complicate planning for global events.

Demand for this summer's soccer World Cup has come early, driven by anticipation of the tournament's return to North America, he said.

Interest was strong even before the draw in December and accelerated further afterwards.

Caine pointed to the Super Bowl as another event that draws early buyers, typically soon after packages go on sale in May or June, as fans lock in plans well ahead of the game.

For the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, On Location is working to develop a variety of options at various price points.

"We're going to have hundreds of thousands of guests coming to LA who are going to want to do more than just have a ticket to go see the Olympics," he said.

"We will help them with all of the things they need, whether it's hotels, transportation, ticketing, experiences, excursions to have a bucket list, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Sports tourism has emerged as a major economic driver, with spending in the sector reaching $600 billion annually and projected to pass $1 trillion within a few years, Caine noted.

"The growth rate is extraordinary," he said.