In addition to bringing great joy to her family and the rest of the nation, Princess Charlotte’s birth on Saturday gave an impressive boost to London tourism, exceeding the impact made by big brother George’s birth in 2013.
When Prince George was born, London had a record year for tourism, with over 29 million visitors. Now, London & Partners is predicting that the capital city will welcome nearly 32 million tourists in the year 2015 – 2.7 million more than the number they welcomed in 2013.
The Royal Collection Trust and Historic Royal Palaces, which manage Royal properties such as Buckingham and Kensington Palace, and the Tower of London, are expected to be host to the largest number of visitors.
Other venues in the city offer special attractions to celebrate the birth of Princess Charlotte. The Park Lane Hotel will serve an exclusive Royal Baby Shower Afternoon Tea all through May, and the Royally Rich Afternoon Tea with City Cruises takes passengers through 150 years of royal babies, with photographs and lectures by experts Ian Pelham Turner and Helena Chard. Baby boutiques and Hamley’s are also attempting to celebrate the new Princess.
Places with connections to William and Kate, such as their country home, Anmer Hall, are also expected to generate a great deal of interest. Prince George’s birth resulted in the generation of £243 million in the sales of coffee mugs, t-shirts and other souvenirs, and it is expected that Princess Charlotte’s birth will have a similar effect.
One of the greatest contributors to the £4.6 billion made in tourist revenue every year is international interest in the Royal Family. Americans in particular are fascinated by the culture and heritage which is associated with the monarchy.
Amanda Truman, director product marketing for the London Pass, said: “It’s often said that American tourists are fascinated by the British Royals, and the sightseeing patterns of our customers confirm this. We hope that the new Royal baby will bring even more visitors from the US to London.”
The London Pass is a sightseeing card which is used by tourists to gain easy access to the city’s many attractions. According to research carried out based on the card’s usage, around 23 percent of visits to sites with Royal connections are made by American tourists. This number has increased significantly since 2011, when the Royal Wedding of Princess Charlotte’s parents brought in millions of additional visitors.
Featured photo credit: By Carfax2 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
