2010-08-02 08:52

SHANGHAI - Organizers of Expo 2010 Shanghai are still deciding how to distribute tickets to the event for the upcoming National Day holiday in October, as attendance is expected to soar during the seven-day break.

At a press conference on Saturday, Hong Hao, director of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, said a plan would be announced after careful consideration, amid reports that there is a shortage of tickets for the dates between Oct 1 and Oct 31.

Organizers categorized Oct 1-7 and Oct 25-31 as peak days that require special tickets to avoid overcrowding.

"The public's needs will be considered as we will be celebrating a festive China Pavilion day on October 1," Hong said. But the number of tickets that will be issued for the holiday period remains undecided.

Meanwhile, organizers continue to test the daily maximum crowd capacity of the Expo Garden. The highest daily attendance rate was set on July 17, when 557,200 people visited the Expo.

The Oriental Morning Post reported that tickets for peak days in October were in short supply, with passes for Oct 31, the last day of the Expo, already sold out.

The tickets for Oct 1 are only available at outlets of China Mobile, one of the four largest ticket agencies appointed on the mainland. Other agencies include China Telecom, China Post and the Bank of Communications.

In addition to peak day ticket distribution, organizers said they planned to release a new set of China Pavilion reservation vouchers in early August to combat the fake ones that continue to blight the event's most popular attraction.

The new vouchers, which are similar to travel cards on Metro lines in Shanghai, will contain an implanted chip to curtail further acts of fraud.