Royal Wedding is bad news for overseas travel market
Inbound tour operators are rubbing their hands together with delight at the news of a Royal Wedding next year.
But agents and operators selling overseas holidays are preparing themselves for a dip in bookings as Brits decide to stay home or delay their holiday plans until after the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
The date for the wedding has not yet been set, but is planned for Spring or Summer.
The overseas travel industry will be hoping that a date is set soon and will be cheering for a Spring wedding, which will have less of an impact on next year’s bookings.
But according to the calendar of Royal events, August, the peak month for the industry, looks like the most likely month.
Paddy Power, the bookmaker, has chosen Saturday August 13 as the favourite date, with odds as low as three to one.
An ABTA spokesman said: “It’s fair to say, as we see with major sporting events like the World Cup, it may well cause people to delay booking overseas holidays until after the wedding takes place.”
For inbound and domestic tour operators, however, the wedding is great news.
“This is the best possible showcase for the UK as a travel destination and will present great business opportunities for inbound and domestic tour operators and for ABTA travel agents wanting to sell packages to London,” said the ABTA spokesman.
“In addition, all of the thousands of hotel rooms that are being provided for the Olympics in 2012 will mean that there will extra bed space available.”
Sandie Dawe, chief executive of VisitBritain, said: “This is absolutely wonderful news for William and Kate. It will also be an enormous boost for the British tourism industry.
“Our research indicates that in a typical year the places, events and history associated with Monarchy generate well over £500 million in revenue for the British tourism industry. We would expect that in a Royal Wedding year we would do even better than that.
“The youth and vigour of the couple is very attractive. Millions of people around the world are certain see the wedding as the perfect moment to come to Britain to see the young Royals and our much loved Queen.”
Mary Rance, chief executive of Ukinbound added: “Yesterday’s announcement of the Royal Engagement between Prince William and Kate Middleton is not only fantastic news for the couple and their respective families, but could also be a cause for celebration for the UK’s inbound tourism industry.
“All eyes will be on London as the marriage will be broadcast to hundreds of countries worldwide and millions will descend upon the city to be part of the festivities, providing a vital boost to visitor numbers.â€
The group said the wedding and the Queen diamond jubilee would both have a significant role in attracting visitors to the UK in the next two years.
* Is the Royal Wedding good news or bad news for your business? Which date would you prefer for the event? Are you concerned about a fall in bookings?
Share your views by clicking on ADD A COMMENT below.
By Bev Fearis
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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