In digital era, new thinking needed to combat ticket touts
With a proliferation of websites offering tickets in the secondary market and weak legislation, the government must come up with fresh ideas to combat a scourge that has so frustrated the public
In a laissez-faire economy, no one should be surprised that there is a black market for tickets to events such as concerts. But when Hong Kong’s leader has to weigh in and order a crackdown, the severity of the problem comes into sharp focus.
Fuelled by an outcry against an increasingly rampant black market, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has pledged to consider criminalising touting at government-run venues.
That it has taken the government’s No 1 official to intervene in the matter is to be regretted. Popular shows have long been the target of ticket touts. The growing popularity of purchasing tickets online and the emergence of new apps for doing so have made making money through a secondary market much easier.
Ticket touts usually package their websites as legitimate outlets for desperate fans who are willing to pay more than the face value.
It is not unusual for tickets for the most in-demand events to be snapped up within minutes of going on sale, only to resurface on resale websites. For instance, a HK$280 ticket for a show by local stand-up comedian Dayo Wong Tze-wah is up for grabs at more than HK$1,200 online.