Thousands of Britons are gearing up to leave the country on the week of the Royal Wedding, according to new research from Hotels.com.

The leading hotel accommodation provider revealed searches on its UK site for the week ending April 29 – the day of the ceremony – are up by 212% compared to the same period last year.

Many look set to take advantage of the additional bank holiday to jet to the sun after one of the coldest starts to the winter on record.

Searches made between January 1-17 2011 for the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife are up 154% compared to the same period in 2010, perhaps fuelled in part by UK holidaymakers seeking an alternative to the troubled island of Tunisia.

Marrakech in Morocco is building on its 2010 popularity with a 235% year on year increase and Portugal’s balmy climes are also looking popular with searches up by 147%. Further afield Cancun, the gateway to Mexico’s Mayan Riviera, has also seen a 125% search rise.

As Brits flee, London looks set to experience a bumper year for inbound tourism with searches on Hotels.com overseas sites up year on year. Visitors from the US seem the keenest to experience a taste of Royal Wedding fever with searches for the capital made between January 1-17 up by 189% compared to the same period in 2010. Searches are also up in Japan and France – by 117% and 124% respectively.

Alison Couper, Global Communications Director at Hotels.com, commented “The Royal Wedding is a win-win for inbound and outbound tourism, placing London in the spotlight for overseas visitors and Brits able to take advantage of the extra holiday to enjoy a dose of sunshine. With global media coverage of the nuptials, watching the historic occasion from the comfort of a sun lounger may be the perfect solution for sun-starved Brits.

“Then again, there might also be some people who are already so tired of the saturation coverage that they just want to get away from it all!”