Featured Image: Carine06 from UK/CC BY-SA 2.0
Yesterday, Cheltenham Festival saw its smallest crowd since 1993 as 41,949 spectators were recorded at the horse racing event.
The figure marks a drop of nearly 5,000 from last year and mirrored a fall in Tuesday’s crowd which was down to 55,498 from 60,181.
Wednesday’s attendance was at nearly 65,000 in 2022 but this has quickly plummeted to the record low.
Regulars who have not attended this year have cited the cost of accommodation, tickets, travel, and food and drink as reasons for missing the event at Cheltenham Racecourse.
The total attendance for the week is expected to pass 200,000 but will be noticeably down from the record 280,000 that attended in 2022, which was the first meeting after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organisers have frozen ticket prices, increased food and drink options and are exploring new accommodation deals.
Advance tickets range from £37 ($47/€44) to £86 for each of the first three days, rising to between £53 and £102 for the Friday.
Despite implementing these measures, Cheltenham Racecourse chief executive Guy Lavender has identified accommodation costs as a key factor for the decline in attendance.
“We have heard both anecdotally and directly that the cost of accommodation is impacting attendance,” said Lavender, who took the leadership position in January, in an open letter.
“The fact that many hotel rooms are still available locally, having not sold, re-enforces this view.”
Lindsey Holland, who sits on the Cheltenham Chamber of Commerce, has defended the price of accommodation in the town.
“Hotels aren’t being incredibly greedy, they’re not pushing the prices up because they can,” she said, as reported by The Independent.
“It’s about having a formula which works and sticking with it.”
Analysis by MyBettingSites has claimed that a five-night stay for two adults in Cheltenham during the festival rose to an average of £3,288 from £1,081 from the week before.
Gold Cup day tomorrow has still sold out, with nearly 70,000 people expected at the track.
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