With the arrival of Prince George Alexander Louis last week and the media frenzy surrounding the royal baby's birth, VisitEngland CEO James Berresford spoke with Senior Editor Michelle Baran about how the country's tourism industry stands to benefit from all the attention.
Q: How do the hype, exposure and excitement surrounding the royal birth translate into a potential uptick in travelers to England?
A: The royals and heritage are one of the many brilliant facets that set us apart from other countries. And so we unashamedly use that theme to showcase all that's great about this country.
And while this is a most fantastic amount of publicity for us now, coming off the back of last year's terrific Olympic event and Jubilee event, you have to keep the momentum going. So we need to be active in the market.
Q: How much of an asset to England's tourism industry is the royal family?
A: We know that the main driver to these shores is heritage. Our No. 1 visitor attraction in the country just so happens to be the Tower of London, which is a historic royal palace.
While we want to promote everything else in this country, you go with your low-hanging fruit, and our low-hanging fruit in this country is heritage and culture.
Q: How much does VisitEngland estimate that the royal family and its legacy generate in terms of dollars or visitor numbers for the country's tourism industry?
A: Not the royal family per se, but we know that we get 5.8 million visits a year to heritage attractions. Of course, many of those have broad associations ... so it is actually quite difficult to quantify specifically or in detail as to what the royal family would be worth.
Q: It's obviously too early to see what kind of an impact the royal birth will have on tourism, but given that we've just come off the Queen's Jubilee and the royal wedding, were you able to see or track an uptick in visitation following those royal events?
A: Tourism went up last year 4% on the previous year. And that's up 18.6 billion pounds [in revenue], which is a record year for us in nominal terms. And that's based on 31.1 million visits.
Actually, the international market has slowed for us in recent years. And so, to come back up to a record year in spend is completely attributable to what a great year we had in terms of promoting the country.
These are God-given assets, literally: the birth of a royal baby and the Queen's Jubilee. But we have to use those to make sure that they deliver tourism business, as well.
Q: Is it safe to say that England can no longer sit on its laurels when it comes to tourism marketing and ensuring it maintains market share in an increasingly global world?
A: There is no room for complacency. I recognize that tourism is a hugely competitive world. The little island that we are, packed with great visitor experiences, we can't just assume that people will come. Those days are gone. So we have to be in there fighting. And I can guarantee virtually every country in the world would want a royal birth. And they can't have it.
Q: So how do you follow up a royal birth? How do you maintain momentum?
A: I can't persuade the royal family to hold any more celebrations or major events on our behalf.
Follow Michelle Baran on Twitter @mbtravelweekly.