The Department of Internal Affairs

Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs

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Services › Other Services › Cost of the Royal Visit in November 2019

Cost of the Royal Visit of Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall to New Zealand in 2019

The visit to New Zealand of Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall in November 2019 covered four centres over seven days. The couple spent time in Auckland, Waitangi, Christchurch and Kaikoura.

The visit was The Prince’s 10
th time in New Zealand, and it was the third visit for The Duchess. The visit provided an opportunity for Their Royal Highnesses to build on the relationships formed during their previous visit in 2015, and to meet a broad cross section of New Zealanders throughout the country. The Prince has been a strong advocate for the environment, conservation and sustainability for many years and the visit provided opportunities for him to engage with New Zealanders on those subjects, and to learn more about the ways in which New Zealand is preparing for the future.

The visit included engagements at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, meetings with Paihia Fire Station first responders and students at Kerikeri Primary School and Cashmere High School, site inspection of the Christ Church Cathedral, a private audience with Muslim leaders, and public walks in Christchurch and Kaikoura.

The visit received a significant amount of positive media coverage, both within New Zealand and internationally.

The total cost of the visit is in line with expectations and reflects the complexity and special nature of this visit.

A breakdown of costs incurred by the Department of Internal Affairs is detailed below:

Personnel
$595,192
International Travel*
$372,440
Domestic Travel
$102,403
Accommodation, Meals and Other Travel Related Costs
$236,021
Vehicle Hire**
$84,791
Government Hospitality
$70,382
General Operating Costs
$250,327
Total
$1,711,556
* Unlike other recent significant Royal visits, the Prince and Duchess did not also visit Australia. Consequently, external travel costs to and from the United Kingdom were not able to be shared with Australia.

** Includes the cost of vehicles provided by VIP Transport Service and external contractors.

The costs detailed in the above table include direct visit costs such as air travel, vehicle hire, Government hospitality and indirect costs such as office rental and phone costs as well as IT and other enabling services. The allocation of indirect costs to individual Royal visits has varied in recent years with changes to internal practices meaning that costs are attributed more accurately.

Costs have been rounded and it is possible that some minor costs may yet come in that have not been accounted for.


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