Concert "Kaohsiung citizens have priority in purchasing tickets" Ke Zhien: The principle is to be below 5% in the initial stage

Kuomintang Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Ke Zhien recently proposed the idea of ​​"Kaohsiung citizens having priority in purchasing tickets" for the concert. Not only did Mayor Chen Qimai disagree, but it also caused a backlash from out-of-town fans and local tourism operators. In this regard, she further explained today (10th) that she was considering providing a small number of tickets with reference to international practices and the existing operating model of domestic credit card partners and ticketing platform members who have priority in purchasing tickets. Initially, the principle is less than 5%.

Ke Zhien said that urban governance must take into account the needs of different groups. Large-scale concerts can indeed create considerable economic benefits by attracting non-local fans to Kaohsiung for consumption. However, local residents also bear the impact of traffic congestion, environmental load, and corresponding costs of living, manpower support, and urban marketing. How to expand the benefits of tourism while taking into account the participation rights of citizens is a policy direction that the city government should consider. Internationally, some venues and events have adopted arrangements such as community ticket lottery and priority purchase of tickets for residents in specific areas, which are worthy of Kaohsiung's reference.

Ke Zhien said that therefore, she proposed the idea of ​​"Kaohsiung citizens to purchase tickets first", referring to international practices and the current operation model of domestic credit card partners and ticketing platform members to purchase tickets first, and discussed providing a small number of tickets, initially with less than 5% as the principle, so that Kaohsiung citizens who have passed the qualification verification have priority in purchasing tickets. It will also be equipped with a real-name system, a limit on the number of tickets purchased, and other supporting facilities to balance fairness and prevent scalpers.

In response to external concerns that citizens' priority in purchasing tickets may encourage scalpers or reduce the tourism benefits brought by out-of-town fans, Ke said that the key to preventing scalpers lies in identity verification, real-name management and transaction regulations. Priority in purchasing tickets cannot be directly equated with the problem of scalpers. Similarly, allowing a small number of Kaohsiung citizens to enjoy priority ticket purchasing opportunities does not mean excluding out-of-town fans. "Is it true that when developing the concert economy, we can only consider the consumption of foreign tourists, but not the feelings of Kaohsiung citizens at the same time? Introducing economic benefits from other places and protecting the rights and interests of local citizens can go hand in hand through good system design."

In response to Chen Qimai's comments on the concert economy, Ke Zhien believes that the concert economy has brought huge crowds of people, tourism business opportunities and urban visibility to Kaohsiung. These achievements must be sustained. She has never opposed the concert economy, but believes that since Kaohsiung has established the brand of "Concert City", in the next stage, it should think about how to deepen industrial benefits and improve supporting measures.

Ke Zhien has successively communicated with industry insiders from many domestic and foreign brokerage companies such as Lin Jianhuan, chairman of Kuanwang Arts, Chen Zhenchuan, Zhang Huimei’s agent, and Michael Harrison, senior vice president of AEG Presents, and then proposed a "Concert Economy 2.0" upgrade plan to spread concert business opportunities to all parts of Kaohsiung.