All aboard: Wills and Kate spark holiday getaway frenzy - Reuters

By Tresa Sherin Morera and Anne Pallivathuckal

BANGALORE | Tue Mar 22, 2011 12:07pm EDT

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Thank God it's on a Friday may be what many Britons are thinking as the country gears up for its biggest royal wedding in nearly three decades.

Prince William is to marry fiancee Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey on April 29.

Rather than huddle in front of their televisions, many Britons plan use the extra holiday caused by the wedding, which falls between the Easter and the May Day long weekends, by heading off to beaches and exotic locations.

"It's not so much people trying to get away from the royal wedding... People have realized that all they need to do is book three day's leave and you get an 11-day break," Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) spokesman Sean Tipton told Reuters.

"(The travel firms) obviously have seen a big increase in business because of that," he said.

Thomas Cook said in February it expected to benefit from higher bookings over Easter and the royal wedding, while Holidaybreak was upbeat about potential bookings.

"Some people will want to come to London for the royal wedding; others will just want to get out of the country and get far away from the whole thing. We are looking forward to doing good business with both groups," Holidaybreak Chief Executive Martin Davies said in an email.

Classic Collection Holidays, a UK tour operator that specializes in trips to the Mediterranean, saw Easter bookings made between January 1 and March 14 rise nearly 20 percent.

This compares with the average 12 percent increase every year, with the royal wedding holiday accounting for the difference, said Andrew Farr, PR and marketing manager at Classic Collection Holidays.

Surveys conducted by ComRes last November showed that while 59 percent of British adults were not excited by the news of the wedding, 61 percent thought there should be a bank holiday to mark the occasion.

Alex Lawson, a 24-year old student at London's City College, has holiday on his mind more than anything else.

"I am excited as I will be out of the country celebrating Queen's Day in Amsterdam."

Londoner Leah Riley echoed Lawson: "It's good that the royal wedding is happening in that week, as it falls bang in the middle of some other holidays. So I can take off for a quick break."

The monarchy does not spark the same interest as it did when Lady Diana Spencer and the Prince of Wales got married in a fairytale wedding 30 years ago, according to royal watchers.

"There's no doubt in my mind that it won't be similar to Prince Charles' wedding when they were millions and millions of people on the street," said Rupert Adams, a royal watcher at betting firm William Hill.

"I think those days are over."

Arthur Healy, a 33-year old online advertising professional agreed: "It wouldn't be the same without Lady Di." (Additional reporting by Adveith Nair in London. Editing by Robert MacMillan)