LONDON: While much of Britain grinds to a halt for the royal wedding next week, Susie Cleary will be camping with friends in the wilds of rural Wales, in blissful oblivion. “We booked it in February. There'll be no television, there will probably be radio but I don't imagine we'll listen,” said the 30-year-old lawyer from London. She is one of millions of Britons who are planning to go on holiday when their compatriots celebrate the nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey on April 29. Some, like her, just want to avoid the whole thing after months of manic media coverage of the preparations for wedding of the son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana. “With all the hype around the wedding it would be a nightmare to be in London in terms of transport and security,” added Cleary. “Also the whole event itself, I am completely not interested, it is a total waste of time, it is really irritating and pointless. I do object to it being forced on me.” Fully 45 percent of Britons are not planning to watch the celebrations, with 32 percent of people saying they would tune in, according to a survey by pollsters YouGov for online travel agent Lastminute.com. But many people will be taking their vacations at the time of the wedding simply to take advantage of a long break coupling a holiday granted for the occasion and the May Day public holiday. “I'm doing it myself,” said Sean Tipton of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA). “A lot of people have been smart and realized that by taking three days off work you can get an 11-day break.” At least three million Britons are set to travel overseas during the period, according to estimates by ABTA. Spain is still the favorite destination for British holidaymakers while there are excellent bargains to Egypt and Tunisia following recent revolutions there, it said. Sales are up by an “astonishing” 59.3 percent on the same period last year, said Paul Furner, managing director of online travel agent TravelRepublic.
