Tourism & the Windsors

AS a series of lavish ceremonies are held to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday, Travelzoo has looked at the question of whether the Royal Family are in tourism terms worth the estimated £37.9 million it costs UK taxpayers to keep it in the style to which it’s accustomed. 

Travelzoo's global survey of tourists* revealed that Italians are the biggest supporters of the #British monarchy, with almost 60% citing the #Royalfamily as one of the factors that makes the UK an attractive holiday destination. Almost half of Canadian (49%) and US travellers (48%) are also drawn to Britain because of the Queen and the Royal family, but not everyone is as enthralled – just 19% of German, 15% of French, and only 10% of Spanish travellers want to come to the UK because of the British monarchy.

US visitors contribute 7% of in-bound tourism spend in the UK, while French, German, Italian and Spanish travellers contribute almost a third (29%) – a combined £7.7 billion between them.

‘The UK makes £106 billion from tourism each year – 3,000 times more than UK taxpayers spend on keeping the Royal Family – and there's no denying that the Queen and the royal family play a role in making Britain a more appealing travel destination,’ said Louise Hodges at Travelzoo.

The Travelzoo survey asked respondents if they believed the Queen and royal family played an important part in the UK's tourism industry: 70% said yes.

Say Ms Hodges: ‘Buckingham Palace and the royal palaces have been in the top ten UK tourist attractions for decades now, attracting a record 2.5 million paying visitors in 2014, and contributing £55 million to the UK economy.’

*Travelzoo's survey was conducted using an online questionnaire in the five largest European Union member states by population, plus the US and Canada. The questionnaire was completed by 4,950 Travelzoo members.

Go Holiday editor David Kernek comments: ‘I suspect it might be possible to exaggerate the value of the Windsors to Britain’s tourism industry. Firstly, the cost of keeping them is disputed; campaign group Republic says the annual £37.9 million sovereign grant from the Treasury takes no account of the cost – also borne by taxpayers – of security. Secondly, while it’s undoubtedly the case that the royal palaces – Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Holyroodhouse (Edinburgh), Hillsborough (Belfast), Clarence House, Kensington Palace, and St, James's Palace, to name only seven – are big attractions, similarly majestic real estate in France, Germany, Austria, and Russia is also a big draw, even though these countries are republics. Thirdly, I think that much of the appeal of the British monarchy – and its continued popularity – derives specifically from the way in which Queen Elizabeth II has reigned. It will be interesting to see if and how that changes when the crown passes to the heir?’

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Ballot opens for tickets to the HMQ90 Windsor celebration

MEMBERS of the public have the opportunity to win a free ticket for The #HMQ90 #Celebration on The Long Walk at #WindsorCastle May 15. This is a part of the Queen's 90th birthday celebration to be held from May 12 to May 15 in the castle’s private grounds. The ballot of 5,000 tickets closes on March 14. 

The event offers the opportunity to be involved in a pre-performance party on the final night of the event and watch a live-screening of a television broadcast from the Long Walk in Windsor Great Park.

The show tells the story of the Queen's life encompassing a reign spanning more than 60 years, starting from when she was born in 1926, through World War Two, to The Coronation in 1953. Performers and displays will include The Oman Royal Cavalry, The New Zealand Army Band, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Azerbaijan Cossack Riders, State Carriages from The Royal Mews, The South Australian Police Band, The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, The Fijian Army Dancers and Band, 100 military and Commonwealth pipers, and The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.

Applications for the ballot can be completed online by filling out a short form, which can be found at www.hmq90.com or they can be applied for in writing to: Celebration on The Long Walk, The Old Booking Hall, Windsor Royal Shopping, Thames St, Windsor SL4 1PJ. 

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Queen Elizabeth II . . .

Later today the Queen's reign will overtake that of Queen Victoria who reigned for sixty-three years, seven months and two days (June 20 1837-January 22 1901) to make #Elizabeth II our longest reigning monarch.

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How to mark the Queen’s LRM day

SEPTEMBER 9 will be the day on which #QueenElizabeth will become Britain’s longest reigning monarch (LRM), taking the record from her great grandmother, Queen Victoria. 

Buckingham Palace says there’ll be no special official event to mark the day – she’ll be opening a railway line in Scotland, which is her normal line of work – but here are some of the ways in which her LRM moment can be celebrated:

The Queen will go face-to-face with Victoria in Chester, where the two monarchs, represented by 12ft look-alikes built by The Giant Manufacturing Company, will meet at a ceremony arranged by local artist Russell Kirk. Chester's husband and wife Town Crier team, David and Julie Mitchell, will provide a commentary during the ceremony.

From September 9 (to January 28), visitors to Windsor Castle can see photographic displays depicting the Queen’s reign from 1952 to 2015. The displays will be shown in the inner Quadrangle of the official residence, which is not normally included in the visitor route.

At the Eleven Fine Art Gallery in Belgravia, London, a photographic picture of the British monarchy and those who help to sustain it. Through the use of mirrors, the exhibition will present a quadruple portrait of key members of the royal family, capturing full-length pictures from the front, back, and sides. It also features members of the Royal Household and senior ceremonial figures in their traditional uniforms. The photographs were taken in 2013 at Windsor Castle. The Queen’s People exhibition. It runs until September 19.

Until September 27, the summer Buckingham Palace has displays in the State Rooms that recreate the settings for state visits, receptions, and garden parties, and will show the preparations that go into the events. For the first time ever, visitors will go into the State Rooms through the Grand Entrance, used by those who come to the palace meet the Queen, including heads of state and prime ministers.

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Picture Credit: The Queen waves from the palace balcony after the Coronation, 1953 by National Media Museum from UK - The Queen waves from the palace balcony after the Coronation, 1953.Uploaded by mrjohncummings. Licensed under No restrictions via Wikimedia Commons 

Queen Elizabeth lived here … but the house is crumbling

A CONTROVERSY has erupted in Malta over the villa that was once home to Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh.  A conservationist has called on either the owners of the villa or the Maltese government to restore the once elegant but now crumbling building.

Astrid Vella said that the Queen had asked to see the property when she last visited Malta in 2007, but that the owners had reportedly refused. The row comes ahead of a royal visit to Malta later this year in November.

‘This villa not only has immense architectural value, but is the only property outside of the UK which the Queen has called home," says Ms Vella. ‘If the Queen asks to visit this property again, it shouldn't be in this state.  We must save it.’ She argued that the government did not hesitate to acquire private property for road projects, and questioned whether roads were more precious than the country's heritage.

‘It is crucial to our heritage and our collective memory, and could really boost quality tourist numbers. Tourists are disgusted at how we treat our heritage.’

The house, known as Villa Guardamangia and on the outskirts of Valletta, was leased by Lord Louis Mountbatten in the late 1920s. At various times between 1946 and 1953, the then Princess Elizabeth stayed at the villa while her fiancé, and later husband, The Duke of Edinburgh, was stationed in Malta with the Royal Navy. Philip and Elizabeth then lived in Malta for a period between 1949 and 1951.

However, no one seems able to agree yet on who would foot the bill for any restoration, and the Queen's former home now appears to be in serious danger of being knocked down to make way for developers.

‘Surveys on the property have been carried out and restoration cost estimates have been gathered,’ said the Maltese government in a statement. ‘The government has no title on the property and this has created legal complications with its owners.’

But the government said that it plans to expropriate the house, with full compensation to its owners, because it ‘believes that the property is one of historical heritage’.


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Picture Credit: Elizabeth and Philip 1953 by Cecil Beaton - Library and Archives Canada Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons, Valetta by User:Alexandra at lb.wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons 

News snippets from Malta & Gozo

• Good year for Gozo tourism ...

FOREIGN tourist arrivals on Gozo in 2014 were up by five percent on the 2013 total, reports the Malta & Gozo National Statistics Office. 

The number of domestic tourists was up by 3.4 percent. These figures are based on hotel and guest house stays, and do not include bed-nights in the farmhouse and apartments self-catering sector.

• Roman finds in Malta ...

A ROMAN tomb, vine trenches, and the remains of a late Roman structure are among the archaeological finds revealed during road widening work in Malta.

Fifty new archaeological sites have been uncovered, and as a consequence the Area of Archaeological Importance around Rabat has been substantially increased.

• Malta celebration for easyJet ...

EASYJET has celebrated carrying its two millionth passenger from Malta.

‘It is a pleasure to commemorate the milestone of two million passengers carried by easyJet to Malta,’ said the country’s tourism minister, Edward Zammit Lewis.

‘This is a remarkable achievement considering that easyJet operations to Malta started only in 2008 and have been expanding in an organic manner both in terms of the number of services and the territories served. Malta has embarked on a strategy of increasing airline routes, the results of which have been impressive, as tourism volume, overnight stays, and expenditure grow consistently year by year.’

easyJet expects to celebrate carrying its one millionth passenger on the London Gatwick to Malta route.

• Movies on Malta ...

THE Valletta Film Festival in Malta runs from June 15 to 21.

It will present progressive and innovative independent cinema, including feature length documentaries.

• And later in the year …

Queen Elizabeth II will visit Malta and attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Valletta (November 27-29). Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall will also be in the royal party. 

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Picture Credit: "Gozo-mgarr-harbour-60" by Myriam Thyes - Own work via Wikimedia Commons; "Main mosaic of the Domus Romana (Roman House) at Mdina, Malta" by Sudika (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons