Best Western reports royal wedding spike
Best Western is reporting an 11% increase in bookings from the US for the two weeks surrounding the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
According to data revealed by Best Western Great Britain, there has been a spike in sales for the two weeks surrounding May 19, the date of the wedding.
This has been accompanied by a 27% year-on-year rise in the number of searches on bestwestern.com for UK destinations.
The group believes that, based on the wedding of Prince Williams and Kate Middleton in 2011, this year’s royal wedding will be followed by a continued increase in UK interest from overseas.
It says early signs suggest Harry’s wedding could generate even more interest than his brother’s as the couple received 75% more Google searches than Will and Kate.
Andrew Denton, director of communications at Best Western, said: "As seen with Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding, such occasions provide a big boost to tourism and create a legacy of increased interest in the UK.
"With Prince Harry and Meghan Markle generating so much early excitement, their wedding this year could inspire an even greater number of people to visit and help celebrate the big day."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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