Has anyone been to the Royal Haciendas?

Politics of the United Kingdom: Can anyone provide proof that the Royal family brings in a huge amount of tourist income?

• I keep reading the claim that the Royal Family brings in millions of tourist dollars (or Euros etc) every year but I've never seen any actual evidence. Can anyone find some evidence that proves there are people who come to the UK specifically for the royal family and wouldn't come if they weren't around? I'd really like to see some actual figures or evidence which backs up the claim that royal tourism is a huge benefit to the country. And I'm not talking about visitors to the Tower of London which I consider a historical attraction and not a royal one.

• Answer:

  That's a very interesting question. I think what you're getting at is, "If Britain did not have a Royal Family, would its tourism -- both in money spent, and in number of visitors -- be materially impacted?" Since "allure" of the Royal Family is not personal, that is, visitors do not expect to be treated to a song and dance or have direct services rendered upon them by members of the Family, two sub-questions arise: Do existing historical monuments and palaces, e.g. Tower of London, Holyroodhouse, etc., etc., draw visitors more on the basis of their great beauty, their history, or more because there is a still living link today? Will the activities that surround the Royal Family that draw visitors, e.g. Changing of the Guard, Trooping the Colour, continue in a meaningful way if there no longer exists a Royal Family? I think if you look at the countries that formerly had a royal or imperial family (and even ones that in theory still do, like Japan), the historical monuments and palaces if anything, draw more visitors because the absence of a Royal Family makes them accessible to the public. Can you imagine the tourism hit that France or China would endure if Versailles or the Forbidden City were still occupied by a royal family, and therefore off-limits to visitors? Likewise, I don't believe the mere existence of the Emperor of Japan (albeit severely restricted in his activities) has any impact on the popularity of the Meiji Shrine Gardens in Tokyo. But what about the activities that surround the Royal Family? Here, the impact and "draw" of the activities might not be as compelling if they are seen as "fake". The Chinese will often throw some (often partially invented) re-enactment of an ancient ceremony (for example, the memorial rites of the Yellow Emperor -- although one enterprising couple put on royal wedding of their own; see http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gallery/2011/apr/27/chinese-wedding-royal-inspiration-in-pictures#/?picture=374009218&index=0) However, these activities are frequently panned as knock-offs. People might go to see a re-enactment of an imperial ceremony for the sake of curiosity and amusement. Nobody actually thinks its the real thing. So, these activities would probably cease being the attraction that they are. I think the question not to wonder if the Queen pays a "tourism dividend" for Britain. She is not, as one MP put it, a bargain to be bought off the shelf at Tesco. She represents Britain (and Canada, and Australia, and New Zealand, and numerous other realms and territories through her Governors and Governors-General) to itself and to its own people, serving as a living personification of the meaning of "Britishness", and in many ways the fount of a British civil religion. She means more to the British people by being there, than she does to curious visitors and their tourism pounds. I don't think there is an exact parallel in the United States. Robert Bellah wrote that we venerate many of our founding charters and symbols (the American flag, etc.) as defining a national identity, and representing America to her own people, and as the fount of a similar American civil religion. I don't think the National Archives is the key draw for tourists. Rather, our cities, museums, natural wonders, modern entertainments, and historical monuments are -- not dissimilar to Britain or France or China. I conclude that like the Royal Family for the British people, the role of our symbols means more to the American people than it does to curious visitors and their tourism dollars.