LONDON: Online searches for lodges and stays in London have spiked following the announcement of dates for Britain's first coronation in 70 years as many people decide to throng London to watch the royal affair. However, not everyone is as excited because the city is expected to remain largely packed, The New York Times reported.
Flags and royal emblems adorn the streets of London as the city prepares to celebrate coronation with considerable pomp and spectacle. The three-day celebration will include a royal procession through central London, a celebrity-studded performance at Windsor Castle, a national holiday on May 8, and street festivities around the country. An avid British history buff, Robin Higgins, knew beforehand that she wanted to attend the coronation of King Charles III, even before the announcements of the dates for the event on May 6. She said that she was interested in the royal family since she was a teenager and had watched the 1981 wedding of the then Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, as per The New York Times.
58-year-old Higgins Horwitz, who will travel from Skokie to London, said, "How many times does it happen in one's lifetime that you get see a coronation?" "It's history in the making," she added.
Patricia Yates, the chief executive of VisitBritain, the national tourism agency said that areas around Buckingham Palace and the central route known as the Mall are already crammed with people. US visitors, Britain's largest inbound market, are likely to drive next week's surge in arrivals. According to VisitBritain, flight bookings from the United States to Britain are about 10 per cent higher in May as compared to May 2019. Hooper, the booking app, said that they are also more expensive - round-trip airfares from the United States to London over coronation weekend averaged USD 733 in April, 21 per cent higher than a year earlier, according to The New York Times.
According to the company, after the coronation dates were announced, searches for Airbnb rentals in London during the coronation weekend increased. US travellers were among the top guests in London around the coronation dates, along with travellers from Britain, France, Australia, and Germany. By late March, hotel bookings on the booking platform Expedia in London were 60 per cent higher for coronation weekend than at the same time last year. According to Hopper, by mid-April, accommodations were averaging around USD 350 per night.
Lana Bennett, CEO of Trips International, a British company that offers special speciality trips, said that their six-night coronation excursion, which Higgins Horwitz is attending, was sold out by February. "It shines a light on the country, and it gives people an opportunity to come."
But not all travellers heading towards London to attend the coronation were excited. Laura Aveidi, a Houston-based youth fitness instructor, was upset to learn that her family holiday to London, which she scheduled last July, coincided with the festivities. She said, "The city is going to be packed and it's not ideal," adding, "It really doesn't interest us."
Despite booking early, Aveidi's plans in central London were cancelled by two different Airbnb hosts, leaving her scrambling. She nearly doubled her budget at the last minute for a third Airbnb, The New York Times reported.
Despite the fact that the company reimbursed her for some of her unexpected expenses, Aveidi described the trip as a nightmare. She said, "One hundred per cent we would have changed the dates."
Even some royal enthusiasts who attended the Platinum Jubilee are staying at home, which could be attributed to Charles being less popular than his mother, Queen Elizabeth. "They just don't have the interest this year," said Ralph Iantosca, a travel agent based in Texas who has only one customer coming to London that weekend. "Those who were interested don't want crowds."
For those who travel a significant distance to attend the coronation, it is not only a celebration of Charles' crowning, but also a means to reconnect with their heritage. Paul Dabrowa, the creator of a biotech company who lives in Melbourne, Australia, said that attending the coronation is a chance for him to honour his own family heritage, The New York Times reported. (ANI)
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