The royal wedding next month will see a boost in spring tourist as holidaymakers will flock to Britain. It is expected that tourism bosses will cash in on the 100, 000 revellers set to descend on Windsor, Berkshire for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on May 19.
It was mentioned by Visit Britain director Patricia Yates that Markle’s connection to American audiences and the attractive exchange rates will contribute. It is a great opportunity and a great showcase moment for Britain.
So far history and heritage has been a major draw for travel to the country and it will mostly be about interpreting it for a younger audience.
There is a connection with the international markets as she is an American and there is a huge interest in the fashion she’s wearing along with the British culture too, Yates added.
Between April and June 2011 the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding contributed to a seven per cent rise in visitors. It came to around 8.3 million, up from 7.8 million in 2010.
That summer around 600,000 queued to see the duchess’s wedding dress when it went on display at Buckingham Palace.
Between May 18 and May 20 there was a rise in bookings for Windsor as predicted by Airbnb, compared with the same period last year. There was 1,438 percent rise in Slough.
Newly released figures have revealed that the policing bill for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding was £6.35million and about £2.8million was spent on the overtime costs for the event in the year 2011.
Amid a row over police staffing level the figures came before Prince Harry weds Meghan Markle. On May 19, Thames Valley Police expect 100,000 people to visit Windsor.
Police Federation chairman Ken Marsh called a ‘huge drain’ on resources and Met police officers will be allotted to support colleagues.
Further the Home Office asserted that the police have the resources they need.
