Under 10% of tickets for the 2023 National Ploughing Championships were purchased ‘at the gate’, with the vast majority purchased online, according to National Ploughing Association (NPA) assistant managing director Anna Marie McHugh.
For the first time last year, the NPA required attendees to purchase their tickets online before the event, with only unsold tickets available at the gate.
As well as that, tickets would not be sold at the gate if the event ground was already at capacity.
At the time, the decision from the NPA drew some criticism, with one TD, independent deputy Michael Collins, claiming the move reignited debate around “the cashless society”.
However, speaking to Agriland after the NPA annual general meeting (AGM) today (Wednesday, April 24), McHugh said that the number of tickets sold at the gate was less than 10% of the total number of tickets sold.
All-in-all, 200,550 people attended ‘Ploughing 2023’ across the three days.
Even before last year’s Ploughing, online ticket sales were already accounting for approximately 65% of ticket sales in previous events.
For that reason, McHugh said, selling tickets online was increasingly being seen as the norm and the way to go within the NPA.
“Last year it was a big issue, but online sales were already 65% going into last year. It’s embedding into the organisation now. Online sales went way up last year.”
The NPA assistant managing director indicated that this system will remain in place for the 2024 National Ploughing Championships, which take place between September 17 and 19 at Ratheniska, Co. Laois for the third successive year.
McHugh said that “some element” of a pay-at-the-gate option will remain in place for the foreseeable future, although punters taking this option may miss out due to tickets being sold out or the event ground being full to capacity.
McHugh had previously said that the decision to move to online ticket sales as a requirement was partially based on consultation with emergency services over how to manage the flow of people through the gates.
Looking ahead to Ploughing 2024, McHugh told Agriland that the ‘early bird’ bookings for exhibition spaces are running at about 25% ahead of the same point of last year.
The NPA will also play host to an international vintage ploughing competition during the first two days of the national event, featuring vintage tractors and ploughs, and representatives from over around a dozen countries.
With the weather not playing ball with the NPA for last year’s event, McHugh said the association is hoping to get luckier on that front for 2024. However, despite the “tough” Ploughing of 2023, the NPA is “in a good place”, she said.