With four speaker sessions, a workshop and a dinner sold out, Escape! festival organisers are thrilled with the response to the Queen's Birthday weekend event.
"It shows there is a hunger locally for this type of thoughtful conversation and Escape! is going from strength to strength," festival director Jo Bond said.
"We were especially pleased to have ticket holders from Rotorua, Hamilton, Whakatane, Auckland, Christchurch and Nelson. We take pride in putting on events that draw people to Tauranga."
Attendance to ticketed shows was up 10 per cent from 2016 and 37 per cent from the inaugural Escape! in 2014, despite torrential rain on Sunday.