Britain’s Prince William and his new bride Catherine are due in California next month for a trip the cash-strapped US state hopes will give a royal boost to its tourist industry.
While travel chiefs hope to showcase the Golden State’s attractions for visitors, speculation is intense over exactly where the newlyweds will go and who they will see during the July 8-10 trip.
Meeting Hollywood stars, enjoying the beach at Malibu, dinner with Elton John or the Beckhams – nothing can be ruled out for the three-day trip, due after a seven-city tour of Canada.
“No matter where they venture in California, the royal visit will create a global postcard for the Golden State this summer,” said Caroline Beteta, head of the California Travel and Tourism Commission.
“Certainly at a time when international travel is leading the rebound in the industry, it’s a pivotal time for California to be on the world stage with a such a highly-publicised visit by the royal newlyweds,” she told AFP.
The couple have already narrowed down the options, saying last week they plan to visit “Los Angeles and surrounding areas” on the trip, the first to the US by Catherine.
That will have disappointed some of California’s top tourism spots further north, including Yosemite and Redwood national parks, San Francisco or Death Valley on the other side of the Sierra Nevada.
But it still leaves open a swathe of possibilities centred on LA, home to an enormous British community and the centre of the US film industry, and playground to its Tinseltown stars.
A meeting with David and Victoria Beckham – guests at the wedding who live with their children in a Beverly Hills mansion – is seen as among the most likely stops.
They might, however, prefer to hang out in Santa Monica, home to a huge British population who have flocked to the sea-front community and its lively pier.
It will not be the first British royal trip to California: William’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II visited in 1983, stopping in LA, San Diego, Palm Springs and San Francisco.
Princess Diana was a hit when she visited in the 1980s, while father Prince Charles and his second wife Camilla visited in 2005.
The trip comes as California, the most populous US state whose economy would make it the eighth largest economy in the world if it were a country, struggles to recover from the recession. But tourism chiefs say the travel sector is leading the recovery.
“Travel no doubt took a hit in 2009 when the global economy took a major downturn and people were forced to make tough spending choices. The good news is that travel is on the rebound,” said Beteta.
“Leisure travel from all of California’s top international markets, with the exception of Japan, are forecasted to experience growth into 2015,” she added.