OLYMPIC LEGACY FOR LONDON'S THEATRELAND

 Tourists from 164 Countries Flock to the Theatre Capital of the world.

London's West End Theatres are heading for a record year according to the latest figures from Theatrepeople.com

Theatrepeople.com says the uplift has been brought about due to the positive reaction to a series of London good news stories, from the Olympic success of last year to the great royal good news stories from the Diamond Jubilee to the recent arrival of the Royal Baby, making London an even more popular destination for overseas tourists.

London and Partners' latest International Passenger Survey shows that a record number of 3.4 million overseas tourists came to London in the first quarter of 2013, an increase of 4.2%. With 60% of overseas visitors to London citing attending a theatre performance as an important reason for their trip, all the conditions are right for a record year in 2013 for West End Theatres.

Said Chris Ryan, Theatrepeople.com's Commercial Director: "This year we've sold tickets to customers from over 164 countries, proving beyond doubt that London is the theatre capital of the world. New shows such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Book of Mormon and Once have really captured peoples imagination whilst perennial favourites The Lion King and Wicked continue to sell out".

TheatrePeople.com's analysis of its online and shops booking figures for the first half of the year show that bookings for West End shows from overseas have increased by nearly 40% year on year, and that overseas tourists now account for nearly 50% of all bookings for musicals and 25% of bookings for plays.

The company also believes the robust booking figures will continue into the Autumn with strong forward bookings from overseas markets particularly the USA. This trend will only be helped by the Autumn/Winter opening of new shows such The Commitments, From Here To Eternity and Stephen Ward, Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical.

Theatrepeople.com is owned by Encore Tickets, which delivers over 20% of all ticket sales to the WestEnd.

Ends - See Statistics P2

PICTURE CAPTION
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - TheatrePeople's hit show for the Summer. 

For press information please contact:

Annabel Gower. Encore.

T: 020 7400 1261. E: agower@encoretickets.co.uk

John Sansom. Presslink.

T: 020 7831 0023. M: 07872 606024.john@presslinkgroup.co.uk

TheatrePeople - Report Highlights

For performances from January 1^st- June 30^th2013 Theatre People's parent, Encore Tickets, sold over 20% of West End Theatre Tickets.

Countries of Origin

Overseas customesr tend to buy more discounted tickets however they also tend towards better quality seats- stall and dress therefore they spend more per booking than the average UK consumer. Europe and North America, Australasia continue to be strong markets. Brazil, Russia, India and China, however the Brazilian market has developed strongly over the past year.