More than 6000 people visited the Autumn Lights exhibition, which was staged in the basement of the Octagon’s Athenaeum building to coincide with Ed Sheeran’s Dunedin concerts.
"People have just loved it. Even people that went to Ed Sheeran have said that this lantern event has been the highlight of their trip to Dunedin.
"It’s been overwhelmingly popular and people really have loved seeing it," she said.
It was estimated about two-thirds of people viewing the exhibition were visitors to the city and seeing the lanterns for the first time, she said.
They would spread the word about Dunedin’s lanterns when they returned home, hopefully boosting the profile and crowd for the next Midwinter Carnival.
"We do know that people do already travel down to Dunedin for the Dunedin Midwinter Carnival. They come down from Christchurch and they come up from Invercargill.
"We know that that will increase the possibility that more people will come to our carnival event ... it just gives us a wider exposure beyond the Otago region. It will be something people associate with Dunedin."
