Passionate Sales for Oberammergau Play

Tour operators have begun sales for the year 2000 Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany, which is staged only once a decade, and sales seem to be brisk.

Wilcox World Travel and Tours of Asheville, N.C., for instance, has sold about 40% of its 1,576 pageant tickets since opening sales last month. The pageant traditionally attracts about 500,000 people, and even more are expected for the millennium version of the daylong shows, performed from May 22 to Oct. 6, 2000.

Tour companies have been allotted a hefty portion of the advance tickets, and often they make customers buy a tour with the ticket. However, the Oberammergau tourist office, telephone 011-49-8822-92-31-0, fax 011-49-8822-92-31-44, is accepting orders from individuals. At its Internet site, https://www.oberammergau.de, you can request order forms for tickets (about $69 to $99) or for one- or two-night lodging-ticket packages ($216 to $494 per night).