TICKETS for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo have taken more than three months longer than last year to sell-out – with some already being returned by tour operators who cannot find customers.
Officials have blamed the global economic downturn and unfavourable exchange rates for the slow sales with fewer foreign visitors willing to make the trip to the Capital this year.
But Tattoo chiefs said they have already re-sold all the tickets returned from tour operators and insisted they were "delighted" with the sales.
Alan Smith, sales and marketing manager for the Tattoo, said: "We have had a few returns from some tour operators who, because of the current economic slowdown, are being more cautious about the number of visitors they expect to buy tickets.
"Although we expect to receive some returns like this every year, they usually come much nearer to the event and only after tour companies have sold all the tickets they can. This year, they appear to be taking a more conservative approach and are sending back some of their tickets earlier than usual.
"Although it won't have affected many visitors who have planned to come to the Tattoo months in advance, it's likely that the small number who decide to come nearer the time may be put off by the higher costs brought about by a poor exchange rate.
"But every one of those returns has now been re-sold and this year's Tattoo is a complete sell-out. We are delighted with this great news and shows that the Tattoo is still one of the most popular events in the world.
"Although this year's event has not sold out as quickly as last year, it is still the tenth sell-out in a row that we have had.
"It's fair to say that the ongoing popularity of the Tattoo is still as high as it has ever been."
The news comes a month after Tattoo bosses admitted ticket sales had slipped for the first time in almost a decade.
Box-office records for the showpiece event had been broken every year since 1999, and last year every ticket was snapped up by January 12.
Foreign sales for the 2008 run – particularly from the United States – are understood to be down on previous years as a result of the economic slump.
Faith Liddell, director of Festivals Edinburgh, the umbrella group for the city's major events, said it was too early to tell whether the city's other festivals would also face a slowdown in sales.
She added: "We have no sense at the moment that the current economic slowdown and poor exchange rates are going to affect ticket sales at Edinburgh's summer festivals.
"We would only be able to assess this in due course as the various programmes are launched and ticket sales commence."
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