THE royal wedding will be used to give a major boost to the Scottish tourism economy which could see millions of new visitors flock to the country where Prince William and Kate Middleton fell in love.
The tourist wedding market is already worth £80 million to the Scottish economy, according to VisitScotland, which is now aiming to capitalise on the nuptials of Prince William and Miss Middleton to significantly increase this figure.
On average the British Monarchy is worth more than £500m to the UK-wide economy each year, according to figures from national tourism organisation VisitBritain, but estimates predict that the benefits of the royal wedding are set to far outstrip this -- with Scotland perfectly poised to cash in.
While a spokesman for VisitScotland said yesterday that it was hard to quantify an exact figure for the anticipated additional revenue, more than a million people have already been targeted through a “Meet The Scots” international marketing campaign which promotes the country as a romantic getaway destination.
Advertisements have run in airline magazines and in recent months VisitScotland has hosted news crews from across the world, including America’s Entertainment Tonight Show, Australia’s Channel 9 Today programme and Canadian network CTV, all helping to showcase the nation’s attractions to a global audience.
Much of the activity has centred on St Andrews, where the prince and Miss Middleton met at university, as well as highlighting other destinations including Holyrood Palace, the Royal Yacht Britannia and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.
A parallel marketing campaign, airing on local radio stations this week, will focus on the home market, with a series of adverts aimed at encouraging people to add some regal flair to breaks and day trips through a “Royal Scotland” theme.
VisitScotland’s monthly e-magazine, which goes out to 600,000 people across the UK, has also included content on the nation’s royal romantic credentials.
Mike Cantlay, chairman of VisitScotland, said: “The wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton is wonderful news for the whole of Scotland. With Scotland’s links to the Royal family already a huge draw for visitors to this country, it’s a fantastic opportunity for the whole industry.
“With this in mind, the announcement of the wedding has seen VisitScotland engage in a number of campaigns designed to alert potential visitors from around the globe to the ties between Scotland and the Royal Family.”
In other royal wedding news, it was announced yesterday that grey horses with calm temperaments will escort the Prince and his bride as they make their first journey as husband and wife from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace on Friday.
The Metropolitan Police Mounted Branch has selected 11 candidates, from which nine will be chosen to accompany the royal carriage.
All the animals are used as operational police horses and work on general patrols to cover events such as football matches. In addition to their ceremonial capacity, the horses and officers will be on hand to assist in the event of an incident.
Among the pool of horses is 14-year-old Fulham, who has served with the Met since 2002 and has been on duty for the Trooping the Colour, the State Opening of Parliament and most recently, the 2011 FA Cup semi-final between Manchester United and Manchester City.
Annabel, the Met’s longest- serving grey at 21, and nine-year-old Jackson, one of the youngest greys in the Mounted Branch, are also among the horses put forward for selection.
The head of Mounted Branch, Chief Inspector Bob Barker, said: “We look at the grey horses that we’ve got, and we assess them for their temperament and how they match in colour.
“Particularly for something like the royal wedding, it’s going to be a real challenge for the horses and the officers on the route. The noise, the crowd, the flags -- it’s all going to be a challenge.”
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