The B.C. government revealed today that the eight-day Royal Tour 2016, during which the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge along with their two children visited B.C. and the Yukon, cost the province just over $613,000.
With B.C.’s share coming in at $613,363.93, the Government of Canada’s final tally yet to be announced (they budgeted an estimated $855,600) and $2 million spent on RCMP costs, the total tour cost could come in at a whopping $3.8 million.
Canadian taxpayers are reluctantly used to paying a healthy bill for royal visits with Will and Kate’s 2011 tour cost at $1.2 million, a two-day visit by Princess Ann last year cost $128,000, and the Queen’s 2010 nine-day tour coming in at $2.79 million, the Ottawa Citizen reports.
Overall, the Royal Tour 2016 saw the Duke and Duchess visiting Victoria, Vancouver, Whitehorse, Carcross, Kelowna, Bella Bella and Haida Gwaii. Their Royal Highnesses participated in more than 25 engagements during their visit from Sept. 24 to Oct. 1, 2016.
In a Freedom of Information request, The City of Victoria said it spent $29,487 for street cleaning, traffic control, signage, temporary fencing, flower beds and pots. The services of the Victoria Police Department during the Royal Visit cost $107,357.57 and the City of Vancouver had just under $40,000 in expenses.
READ MORE: Covering Royal Visit 2016: Through the eyes of Global BC and Global Okanagan reporters
According to the province, the royal tour, thanks in large part to the global media coverage, attracted the attention of almost 106 million people worldwide. So while royal visits can cost Canadian taxpayers a pretty penny, one can’t underestimate the branding power of arguably the most famous celebrity couple in the world.
According to research from Destination BC, the royal visit didn’t just spark attention but it also caused an uptick in hotel searches in Vancouver and Canada. Hotels.com reported a 60 per cent increase in hotel searches in Canada from the United Kingdom over the course of their visit and over a 50 per cent increase in searches for Vancouver.
“Destination BC took full advantage of this historic visit by showcasing the diverse beauty of this place to royal watchers around the globe,” Maya Lange, vice-president of global marketing for Destination BC said in a release.
“We’ve heard recently from our overseas teams that interest and bookings are up as a result of the visit.”
The same was seen in Google searches about B.C. that were made in the US, United Kingdom and in Canada. Destination BC said Google analytics measured on or within one day of a royal-related stop showed distinct surges. Destination BC’s travel information site, HelloBC.com, saw a 23 per cent increase during the royal visit but the Great Bear Rainforest page was the one that had a massive spike in traffic with a 1,793 per cent increase.
“The Royal visit garnered millions of impressions that will ultimately drive interest in British Columbia as a travel destination of choice,” Lange said.
Numbers: Visitors to B.C. in 2016
Destination B.C. said from January through October 2016, nearly 4.9 million international visitors came to British Columbia.
The latest international overnight visitor numbers from Statistics Canada show a 12.2 per cent increase over the same 10-month period in 2015, which translates to 531,431 more visitors to the province. Month-over-month statistics also show a 12.1 per cent increase in October 2016 over October 2015.
RCMP costs for Royal Visit
Last week the RCMP released their costs associated with the Royal Visit 2016.
The RCMP says it spent about $2 million on policing costs during the royal visit.
The total bill was released following a federal Access to Information request for RCMP costs during the visit that began Sept. 24.
The records show the largest expenses were connected to pay, overtime and travel costs, which totalled about $1.9 million.
~ with files from Yuliya Talmazan and Canadian Press
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