International festival announces host of new records

The Hebridean Celtic Festival has broken new ground by setting a raft of records for attendance, on-line ticketing and attracting visitors to its Stornoway setting.

Attendances at this year's event were up by 40 per cent, hitting a new high of just over 14,000 for the four-day festival and online ticketing was up by 70 per cent. The figures are all the more remarkable as the festival board is totally voluntary and the festival director's part-time post represents the only paid member of staff.

CalMac also revealed that visitor numbers to the Western Isles during the festival period compared to the same time last year were up on all of their routes. The Ullapool to Stornoway ferry saw an increase of 2.5 per cent with over 5000 travellers. There was also a 9.5 per cent increase on the Berneray to Leverburgh route with over 1000 visitors but the biggest increase was over forty per cent on the Uig to Tarbert route, bringing in nearly 3000 travellers.

Caroline MacLennan, Festival Director said: "Tickets this year sold at a rate of five to one when compared with the previous year which was also a record breaker. The feedback we have had from bands, visitors from across the world and the media has been truly exceptional.

"We also continue to enjoy substantial support from our community which is vital to our success, along with the support of our sponsors. Our festival club was also a great success this year with full attendances that were massively above our expectations. The figures for our events outside of Stornoway also increased.

"We are very grateful to all those who have contributed to such an outstanding success and we are now looking forward to next year."

The festival also announced that the 2005 festival will run from the 13th to the 16th of July.

Mary Ann Campbell, CalMac's Route Manager, Stornoway, said: "The festival this year clearly moved onto another level and we are pleased to be playing a real part in that success. The visitor numbers during festival time continue to rise and we are very happy to be contributing to the local community through the benefits the festival brings. We believe the festival represents a model of best practice, particularly in its marketing and media profile, which other organisations and events could learn from."

Angus MacMillan, Chief Executive of Western Isles Tourist Board said: "The Hebridean Celtic Festival has become a great success story for the islands, and the continued growth is testament to the organisational skills and hard work of all those involved in staging the event. The excitement that is generated permeates throughout the whole of the islands and we very much look forward to the tenth anniversary of the event next year."

For information about the festival: www.hebceltfest.com.

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Issued by: Kane Communication