The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton sparked renewed interest in Westminster Abbey amongst Brits and Americans, figures have revealed.

UStourists topped those visiting the Abbey the day after last week’s high-profile ceremony, with home-grown sightseers coming a close second, according to data from the London Sightseeing Pass.

Tourists flocked to catch a glimpse of the flowers and trees installed in the historic central London Abbey the day after the nuptials, giving them the opportunity to soak up the atmosphere and sit in the seats just vacated by the cream of international society.

Three countries tied for third place of the most Royal Wedding enthusiastic nations –Italy,FranceandCanada. With the newlyweds set to make their first official overseas trip as a married couple to Canada in June this year, the Commonwealth country is gearing up for a good reception.

Statistics from the London Sightseeing Pass – a smartcard giving tourists entry to over 55 of the city’s top attractions – show that British tourist visits to Westminster Abbey were significantly up on a normal Saturday highlighting the positive knock-on affect for domestic tourism of the event.

Amanda Truman, director of product marketing, Leisure Pass Group, commented:

“The Royal Wedding was such an iconic event for theUKthat it’s great to see the world responding and Brits embracing the fact that some of the best tourist attractions are on their own doorstep.”

Tourists inLondonon the day of the Royal Wedding also enjoyed a Royal-themed day of sightseeing with attractions such as theTowerofLondonfor the Crown Jewels the number one favourite for American, Italian, and French tourists. Meanwhile, Canadian travellers opted for a Princess Diana connection and headed forKensingtonPalace.

Interestingly, football enthusiastic nations ofItaly,FranceandSpainall visited aLondonfootball stadium on the same day of the Royal Wedding, whilst Americans and Canadian’s stuck to Royal-themed venues such asWindsorCastle,HamptonCourtPalaceandSt Paul’s Cathedral – the venue for Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding.

The London Sightseeing Pass is a convenient and affordable pre-paid pass designed to help visitors make the most of their stay in the city, with hassle-free entry to tourist destinations, hidden gems and special offers in selected retail outlets, theatres, restaurants, bars and commission-free currency exchange.

For more information and to buy a LondonSightseeingPassplease visit the recently revamped www.londonpass.com website, call 0870 242 9988 or buy in-store at theBritain and London Visitors Centre onRegent Street,London.

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Press information and images:

Katie Wright or Emily Cuthbert at Siren

Website: www.sirenpr.co.uk

Phone: 020 8237 1210

Email: firstname.lastname@sirenpr.co.uk

About Leisure Pass Group:

Tourism specialist Leisure Pass Group creates and manages ‘smart card’ pass systems for cities around the world. The company was founded in 1998 and has established pass products in cities includingLondon,ParisandNew York.

Additionally Leisure Pass Group provides the technology (the ‘Leisure Pass Operating System’ or LPOS) which powers other successful pass programmes, amongst which are the Stockholm Card, the Prague Card, the Copenhagen City Card and theYorkshirePass.