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With less than two months until the opening of this mega event, sales of advance tickets are not growing as hoped. To attract visitors, it is necessary to urgently improve the way the appeal of the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo is conveyed and how tickets are sold.
The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, the organizer of the Expo that will open on April 13, has set a target of selling 14 million advance tickets. However, only about half have been sold so far, and many of the tickets that have been purchased are believed to have been allocated to the business community.
At the 2005 Aichi Expo, the sales target of 8 million tickets was almost achieved six months before the opening. The slow ticket sales for the upcoming Expo is notable in this respect. The challenge now is how to increase ticket purchases by individuals.
To promote advance sales, it is essential to convey the appeal of the pavilions and events at the venue. Japan is planning exhibitions of a “heart” made from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, a Martian meteorite and items featuring popular anime and games.
However, even when people visit the official Expo website, they only find it is filled with explanations of abstract ideals, and not many countries describe the details of their exhibits.
The association has said that it cannot pinpoint the highlights of the Expo, given that values are becoming increasingly diverse. But then what should visitors look forward to? The association should work with the participating countries to introduce more specific exhibits and hands-on programs.
One of the factors behind the poor sales of advance tickets is said to be the complicated purchasing method for electronic tickets, which serve as advance tickets. Potential buyers must first obtain an Expo ID on the official website before purchasing an advance ticket.
Then, they need to specify the date and time of their visit. Advance ticket holders also need to apply for a separate reservation for pavilions and events that are offered by lottery or on a first-come-first-served basis.
This system was adopted to avoid congestion at the venue and make it unnecessary to line up. However, it is undeniable that these extensive measures that require visitors to make a series of reservations have increased the complexity of the system and made people hesitant to buy tickets.
The association had assumed that only advance tickets would be sold. However, when Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura and others met on Feb. 5 with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba — as the central government oversees the association — they requested sales of same-day tickets that could be bought without a reservation at the venue.
These officials must have judged that a framework that simply allows people to buy tickets at the venue is necessary to increase sales. The association has begun considering the sale of same-day tickets, following the prime minister’s instructions in response to their request.
If this happens, the Expo’s maxim that “visitors do not have to line up” may miss the point. There are also some uncertainties, such as the possibility that even if a person buys a same-day ticket, they may not be able to enter popular pavilions that have already been fully booked. To prevent confusion at the venue, it is also important to consider how to manage the system appropriately.
