The Royal Wedding spells great news for the travel industry

The timing of the Royal Wedding couldn’t have been better for those in the travel industry, with tour operators reporting a surge in demand for holidays and ABTA predicting that 2 million Brits will head abroad during the back to back bank holidays.

Everyone from big name travel agents to hotels and airports has been feeling the benefit of the consecutive bank holidays and the party atmosphere it has created. Travel agent Thomas Cook for one has had to put on an additional 100,000 holidays to meet the demand for flights and hotels.

Cassie McLean Customer Services Manager for Thomas Cook said that “so far the most popular destinations have been Cyprus, the Canaries, Turkey and Majorca” and despite the political unrest earlier in the year, Egypt has also remained a popular destination for Brits in search of a little spring sunshine.

Gatwick Airport has also reported a 4% rise in the number of passengers passing through its departure gates this spring as people take advantage of the additional days off work and school. Again Spain seems to be the most popular destination for passengers as they head for the beaches of the Costas.

Guy Stephenson, Commercial Director at Gatwick Airport was quoted as saying, “Easter is always a busy time for Gatwick with passengers jetting off to popular hot spots in the Canaries, the Algarve and Turkey to enjoy the sunshine after a long, cold winter. But this year we are gearing up for an even busier Easter with the string of bank holidays and the extra day for the Royal Wedding meaning passengers can take an 11 day holiday with just three days annual leave.”

Tourist bosses in Scotland are also hoping the Royal Wedding will bring an influx of tourists its way, as interest in the newly married royal couple reaches fever pitch.  A number of international journalists have already been to Scotland to report in and around St Andrews, where the couple first met.

Aside from Will and Kate fever, this summer also brings another Royal Wedding Scotland’s way when Zara Philips marries Mike Tindall in Edinburgh later this year.

Riddle Graham from VisitScotland told STV News: “Clearly this is a huge opportunity to emphasise the royal connections Scotland has with Edinburgh, Royal Deeside and of course St Andrews.

“There has always been a very strong connection with the Royal family and this just provides a unique opportunity for us to do even more and the link with St Andrews is something we wanted to capitalise on.”