Days before the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the perimeter of Buckingham Palace is buzzing with activity as tourists and foreign media take a glimpse of the palace, where 600 guests will proceed after the wedding to dine in the lunch reception. In her report, GMA News' Connie Sison said tourists have been flocking to the Buckingham Palace, taking photos of the official residence of Queen Elizabeth II. Sison interviewed David Lantao, a Princess Diana fanatic who wanted to take photos of the palace before the roads are closed off for the wedding procession. Lantao said he is really excited for the wedding, which he said will show how the future of the royal family will unfold. According to the report, more than one million tourists are expected to be in London on Friday to witness the royal procession and wedding.
Even members of the media from all parts of the world have been staking their claim in limited areas where the media is allowed to cover the royal wedding procession from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace. Journalist Irish Spiegel-Berger from Germany told Sison that she is looking forward to writing about the wedding from different angles. "There's gonna be so much to report... and the interest is so big that it's actually pretty easy to just dive in and get the different aspects of the wedding," Spiegel-Berger said.
Fully booked hotels Finding accommodation in London has become difficult, as all accommodation venues, from small hostels to five-star hotels are all fully booked. Frederick Suaiso, a Filipino working as a senior concierge in a hotel in Central London, told GMA News that most hotels have been fully booked since March. Some residents in London have opened up their homes and offered their spare rooms to tourists, while others settled for renting tents that are set up in designated areas near Buckingham Palace. Tent rentals go for ₤75 each (about P5,000). Sison added that tourists who are willing to stay near the perimeters of Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey will get to view the wedding ceremony via screens that will be set up near the area.
₤40B in tourism revenue Royal wedding souvenirs like commemorative mugs, plates and train tickets have been selling like hotcakes around London, Sison reported. She added that the mood in London has been "festive" as tourists have been eagerly watching even the practice parades near Buckingham Palace. And while some Britons have expressed dismay over the lavish cost of the royal wedding, which will cost taxpayers over ₤20 million, the event is expected to bring in at least ₤40 billion in tourism revenue, Sison said in her report.
— RSJ, GMA News 
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