Lagoa council’s 35th annual country fair, Fatacil, saw the number of those that paid for entry “up by 50%” according to the organiser which by its own admission was guessing at many of the numbers.
The end-of-August fair attracted “close to 150,000 visitors” and the number of those actually paying to get in was “up by more than 50% compared to last year."
The organising body, council owned company Fatasul, admitted that it is “difficult to give a correct estimate of total visitors to Fatacil.”
The showground, owned by the council, does not "even have an electronic control that allows a count to be made of the number of people and families with free access,” said the organiser, complaining at its own organisation.
Those "participating in competitions and other activities in the official programme, guest artists for the stage and the arena, children etc." were not accounted for.
None-the-less the organiser claims an “exponential increase in the number of visitors recorded at Fatacil" which is described as "one of the strongest arguments that the fair organisers have for the 2015 event to retain current exhibitors and to attract new exhibitors and sponsors."
For next year's edition, the organisor wants to redesign the commercial areas for light and heavy vehicles, and the main concert space which can not cope with large crowds.
Before planning ahead with such enthusiasm, Fatasul needs to report the real cash figures to the Council chamber to see if the low entry fee, or free entry fee in many cases, economic model worked or did not work.
If the crowd was swollen by the number of free passes issued, and the gate receipts were low due to the 2014 reduced ticket price policy, the profit and loss account may suggest a different approach should be devised.