Britain: You're invited - Book Accommodation with Metrostar.com

As the U.K. recovers from several years of disappointing visitor numbers, one might almost suspect that Prince William had his kingdom's tourism prospects in mind last November when he proposed to longtime girlfriend and future British princess Kate Middleton.

The royal wedding, which will take place on April 29, provides just the kind of promotional opportunities, media frenzy and public curiosity that destination marketing organizations dream of.

Moreover, it rounds out a perfect tourism trifecta, coming just as the country prepares to host the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games and planning gets under way to celebrate the queen's 60th anniversary Diamond Jubilee in June 2012.

Close to 1 billion TV viewers watched the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer in 1981, according to VisitBritain, the country's tourism marketing arm. This year, VisitBritain is citing predictions that up to 4 billion people, three-quarters of the potential global TV audience, could watch the wedding of Will and Kate.

Given those kinds of expectations, it's little wonder that VisitBritain wasted no time capitalizing on the hype surrounding the royal vows, which it hopes will combine with the Jubilee and the Olympics to create a momentum that will continue to draw visitors well after the final event is history.

Karen Clarkson, VisitBritain's vice president for North America, said that just after William and Kate say their "I do's" in April, "VisitBritain's plan is to launch a four-year marketing campaign that will capitalize on events taking place, including the royal wedding."

The campaign, she said, will be built around the slogan "Britain: You're Invited," a message that's intended to let visitors know "you're invited to join us during an extended period of celebration."

VisitBritain is keeping details of the campaign under wraps until its May launch, but Clarkson said consumers and the travel trade should expect to see it trumpeted across every available medium, from TV to print to social media.

The campaign is expected to pump an additional $3 billion in visitor spending into the British economy and create 50,000 jobs by drawing an additional 4 million visitors to the country over the next four years.

(Source: TravelWeekly.com)