It's a tourist no-show for empty Festival as ticket fiasco goes on

Published on Thursday 31 July 2008 22:16

SCOTLAND'S national tourism body last night admitted there was still "widespread" availability of accommodation in Edinburgh this month, on the eve of the Fringe's opening weekend.

Thousands of rooms are still available across the capital, with most of the city's major hotels unable to fill beds at what is usually the busiest time of year.

VisitScotland has issued an "unprecedented" alert to travel industry contacts across the UK, highlighting the amount of accommodation available "across all sectors".

The organisation told The Scotsman the move was being taken as part of its response to industry concern about the impact of the economic downturn and a slowdown in advance bookings across the country.

The news emerged as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe came under renewed pressure, with growing queues at its box office and venues scrambling to ensure ticket-holders were not turned away.

Organisers failed to open an extra Princes Street box office as planned yesterday, meaning Fringe-goers had to go to the office on the Royal Mile, where they faced an hour-long queue to buy or collect tickets.

VisitScotland's admission follows revelations in The Scotsman that bookings in Edinburgh had slumped. Normally about 90 per cent of rooms are taken in August.

A spokeswoman said: "There is an economic downturn affecting the whole of the UK. Edinburgh is no exception.

"There is a common misconception that Edinburgh in August is fully booked and we're trying to spread the message that there is still plenty of opportunity for people to enjoy the city's fabulous festivals."

Simon Williams, the chief executive of the Edinburgh Principal Hotels Association, said: "I've certainly never heard of VisitScotland doing anything like this in August before.

"I know bookings are well down, although the industry is pretty confident it will recover through last-minute bookings."

David Hinnrichs, the head of the Edinburgh Hotel and Guest House Association, said: "It's pretty unheard of for so much accommodation to be available and there's no denying things have been slow."

Meanwhile, ticket-holders yesterday continued to bombard the Fringe website with complaints, while queues are expected to lengthen by Sunday, when the festival begins.

People who have booked tickets for shows after Monday have been urged to hold off trying to pick them up until next week, to ease pressure on the box office.

Despite the lengthy queues, Fringe officials insisted sales were "going well", and there had been no serious problems.

A spokesman also said there had been no further reports of over-sold shows, after it emerged more than 20 were affected.

Venue managers insisted they were coping with the fallout from the box office problems, with extra staff drafted in and contingency plans drawn up.