CONSUMER RESPONSE TOWARDS IMPORTANCE OF TANGIBLE FORMS OF TICKETS ISSUED FOR UK MUSIC FESTIVALS

Presented as a part of the requirement for the degree in

Msc International Events Management

Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The evident increasing demand for ticketed events, invariably results in the desperate urge for attendees to get hold of tickets, which becomes their only means of gaining entry into such events. This indicates to event organizers that the strategies used for distributing event tickets needs to be up to date to ensure the response for an event is upheld. Needless to say, incorporating modern simpler methods of advance ticket booking, such as e-ticketing, m-ticketing becomes a prerequisite. Statistics and studies reveal that UK Music Festivals are famous world over and people from all over the globe vie to gain entry into one. For example, Music Festivals like the V Festival and the Glastonbury have their tickets completely sold out within days of the tickets being put up on sale online. Studies reveal that online booking is the easiest and most convenient method for attendees to procure tickets in the current IT dominant era.

The speed with which tickets go 'sold out' for UK Music Festivals comprehends the importance of a ticket in the eyes of an attendee. There is an inexplicably huge demand from around the world for these event tickets, and the resultant difficulty in procuring one. Hard core music lovers, fanatics of a particular band/artist performing at the event, or even the those who attend for the love of a particular music festival, consider holding the ticket to an event like this a big achievement and almost always prefer preserving a copy of the event ticket in order to cherish their presence there. However, e-ticketing and m-ticketing has only reduced a ticket to a basic print out or a text message and tangible tickets that could be preserved are not much in use.

This research saw the limited amount of literature available on tickets and ticketing methods, especially upholding tangible forms and complemented this aspect with incorporating safer modern ticketing methods like bar-coding and carried out this research in order to help event organizers understand the psyche and preferences of the masses who make up for a major reason of their events success by being its attendees.

In order to make a study on this same aspect and to investigate the importance of a tangible ticket, this research paper conducted a comparative survey study between three tangible forms - Classic Paper ticket, Wrist Band and a Smart Card by surveying event attendees of UK Music Festivals and ...