Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s wedding leads to tourism boost
MEGHAN Markle’s romance with Prince Harry is driving a massive influx of American tourists to the UK — with unprecedented numbers tipped for her wedding day.
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MEGHAN Markle’s romance with Prince Harry is driving a massive influx of American tourists to the UK, with up to 50,000 American visitors expected outside Windsor Castle for the wedding on May 19.
The UK’s official tourism agency, VisitBritain, is expecting a record 4.1 million Americans to visit the British Isles this year.
American actor Ms Markle is believed to be a big part of the increase, with US media filled with images of Ms Markle and her fiancé Prince Harry, and British scenes including Windsor Castle and London.
VisitBritain’s strategy and communications director Patricia Yates said American tourism had begun picking up last year, with numbers rising by 15 per cent, and the value of their visits by 16 per cent.
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Ms Markle announced her engagement to Prince Harry late last year, and there had been numerous stories and photographs of them published by the media in the months leading up to the announcement.
“America is really huge for us,’’ Ms Yates told News Corp.
“The occasion of the royal wedding is one of those real show-case moments. We’ve had a few, such as the Olympics and the previous royal wedding (Catherine and Prince William in 2011).
“Our history and our heritage is our most important drawcard right across the globe.
“This is bringing the history and heritage to a younger audience. They’re a young couple in love, it’s warm and romantic.
“The fashion I am sure will be amazing, the flowers will look beautiful.’’
Ms Yates said the American Embassy in London had told her they were expecting 50,000 Americans to line the streets of Windsor on May 19 in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the American marrying her prince.
American tourism is worth about $6.2 billion a year to the UK economy, with the second-largest market, Germany, generating only half that amount.
Ms Markle’s visits around the UK accompanying Prince Harry had generated enormous media
interest around the globe, including in her home country of America.
“What’s been great is she wants to go out around the country and visit places,’’ Ms Yates said, adding that “royalty’’ was the word people were most likely to link with Britain, and Ms Markle’s story played right into that interest.
“An American girl meets a prince, what can go wrong with that,’’ she said.
The most recent full-year figures available show 3.45 million Americans visited the UK in 2016, spending an average of 8.22 nights.
The top three activities undertaken were sightseeing, visiting a pub and shopping. One quarter of them came from New York State or California.
American tourism numbers last peaked in 2006, when 3.9 million visitors came from the US.
Originally published as Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s wedding leads to tourism boost