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Britain Hopes for Billion Dollar Boost from Royal Wedding

   Henry Ridgwell | London  April 28, 2011
   Prince Willam's fiancee Kate Middleton leaves Westminster Abbey with
   her mother Carole and Prince Harry, en route to Clarence House in
   London, April 28, 2011

Photo: Reuters

   Prince Willam's fiancee Kate Middleton leaves Westminster Abbey with
   her mother Carole and Prince Harry, en route to Clarence House in
   London, April 28, 2011

   Excitement is building in London ahead of Friday's royal wedding when
   Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot at Westminster Abbey.
   Britain hopes the event will bring in billions of dollars and showcase
   the country to the world. But with the day declared a public holiday,
   some businesses fear the wedding could end up costing them revenue.
   Main attraction
   At times it feels like the royal wedding has brought the entire world
   to London.
   The city's top sights are packed. TV crews from countries across the
   globe are competing for coverage. The number one attraction for all:
   Westminster Abbey, where Prince William and Kate Middleton will walk up
   the aisle on Friday.
   An extra 600,000 tourists are expected to arrive in London to try to
   get a peak of the royal couple.
   All this adds up to an economic boon for Britain, says Mark Di-Toro of
   the government tourism department, VisitBritain.
   "The monarchy every year brings in 500 million pounds [$830 million] to
   the economy," Di-Toro explained. "That's a subsector of the culture and
   heritage which is one of our big selling points of Britain which brings
   in 4.6 billion pounds [$7.6 billion]. But for the actual day itself,
   those one million tourists, the number that are going to be in London
   for the day, should bring in anything up to about 50 million pounds
   [$82 million] in tourism spend."
   Economic windfall?

   The government claims the royal wedding will trigger the start of a
   $3.3 billion windfall for Britain, taking in the queen's Diamond
   Jubilee later this year and the Olympics in 2012. That is a much-needed
   boost for a faltering economy.
   But not everyone agrees. The wedding day has been declared a public
   holiday -- and with Easter the previous weekend, and another holiday
   the following week, many Brits have deserted their jobs to go on
   vacation.
   That could cost companies some income, says Holly Conway of the
   Federation of Small Businesses.
   "Whenever there's a public holiday, there is a cost to the economy of
   about 6 billion pounds [$10 billion] in terms of lost revenue," Conway
   said. "So having two public holidays in a row, there will be a cost.
   But obviously with the royal wedding, some of that revenue will be
   pulled back again because obviously it will have some benefits to the
   economy as well."
   Money makers
   Everyone from Britain's currency maker, the Royal Mint -- which has
   forged a special Prince William and Kate Middleton coin -- to the
   flag-covered shops that line London's favorite shopping streets, are
   trying to harvest the economic rewards of the royal wedding.
   Outside Westminster Abbey, bookmakers like Alex Donohue are even taking
   bets on the royals' choice of attire.
   "People are betting on -- the biggest market by far -- the color of the
   queen's hat and if the punters are to be believed, it's going to be a
   yellow hat on Friday," Donohue said.
   The wedding is generating frenetic excitement among royal fans.
   Businesses hope this show of British patriotism will translate into
   bumper profits.
   *For more information on the Royal Wedding, visit our [1]Special Report
   page

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/special-reports/lifestyle/Royal-Wedding-118768979.html