Updated 21.40pm

TICKETMASTER HAS SAID it is facing an “unprecedented” operation to refund Garth Brooks tickets for the 400,000 people who bought them.

Within minutes of Aiken Promotion confirming that all five concerts had been cancelled, questions were being raised about how all the would-be concert-goers will get their money back.

Full details of exactly how people can get a refund will be unveiled tomorrow.

Ticketmaster said it is “working on a plan to make the cancellation process as simple and convenient as possible for customers”.

“However the scale of this operation is unprecedented in the Irish entertainment industry and therefore we would ask customers to continue to be patient while we finalise our plan”.

Both Ticketmaster and Aiken Promotions promised that full details of the plan will be published tomorrow.

Tickets for the gig sold at between €65 and €80 each.

Rooms refunded

Meanwhile, Moran & Bewley’s Hotel Group has said it will refund rooms booked for the Garth Brooks concerts.

The group said in a statement that “all rooms, including those booked under a no-refund policy, which have been pre-paid will be completely refunded under these exceptional circumstances.”

“The decision to cancel all five concerts will cost Moran & Bewley’s Hotels a conservative minimum of €800,00 but estimates of everything from food and beverage to car parking will put that figure closer to an estimated €1.1 million.”

The Irish Hotels Federation said in a statement this evening that the concerts were a “major tourism event” and their cancellation will have a direct impact on Irish tourism businesses.

“The shambolic situation we now find ourselves in with the cancellation of all five concerts is nothing short of a disaster for our tourism industry,” according to IHF President Stephen McNally.

He also called on the government to ensure a similar issue “does not arise again”, saying: “This situation was entirely avoidable. Major events like this cannot be left to chance.”

The Licensed Vintners Association has criticised the cancellation of the concerts, saying they could have brought an estimated €15 million to Dublin pubs.

LVA Chief Executive Donall O’Keeffe said that news of the cancellations had come as a “body blow” to the Dublin pub trade and urged the Government to explore alternative remedies to the situation.

“All the parties involved in this mess, including the City Authorities, have mishandled this matter from start to finish,” O’Keeffe added. “The whole episode represents a massive financial hit to our members and to the thousands of people whom they employ across the city.”

- Additional reporting by Susan Ryan

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