Tickets to the World Expo in Shanghai went on sale in convenience stores and supermarkets across the city yesterday, a move apparently aimed at kick-starting lacklustre interest in the multibillion-yuan fair.
The tickets are now also available in railway booking offices and even on express trains arriving at the city, local media reported yesterday.
Organisers claim they have sold over 33 million advance tickets, but so far the predicted crowds have failed to materialise, and officials privately admit they are desperate to attract more people.
Almost 1.56 million people have visited the expo during its first 10 days - 40 per cent of what had been expected. The fair needs to maintain a daily average of 380,000 over its six-month run to hit the target of 70 million visitors.
The latest move to ease access to tickets to the expo - the largest and most expensive in history - is just the latest sign that organisers are worried about reaching that target.
A month ahead of the May 1 opening, the city government unexpectedly announced that it would give away one free ticket to every household in the city - over seven million in total, or one-tenth of the target.
However, there are signs that the fair is too expensive for most mainlanders. Full-price expo tickets cost 160 yuan (HK$180) on off-peak days and 200 yuan during peak holidays.
