Marketing VIP and hospitality tickets: a comparative analysis of consumer and event industry perspectives in Wales and the United Kingdom

The article analyses the perspectives of event industry staff in Wales and the United Kingdom (including staff from venues, organisers and ticket providers) regarding the marketing of VIP/hospitality packages. Following a series of interviews, a thematic analysis of key themes included demographics (based on age, income and type of purchaser e.g. public or corporate), customer buying behaviour, pricing, package components and wording to describe the contents, package customisation and co-creation. The results of a survey with responses from consumers are presented with comparisons of the cohorts from Wales and the rest of the UK (United Kingdom), where there was support from customers regarding the ability to customise packages and be included in the process of developing the packages through co-creation with the industry. A model is developed to avoid the mismarketing of events.