Services › Other Services › Cost of the Royal Visit in 2015
Cost of the Royal Visit of Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall to New Zealand in 2015The visit to New Zealand of Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall in November 2015 covered seven centres over seven days. The couple spent time in Wellington, Dunedin, Nelson, Westport, Ngaruawahia, New Plymouth and Auckland.
The visit was The Prince’s ninth time in New Zealand, and it was the second visit for The Duchess. The visit provided an opportunity for Their Royal Highnesses to build on the relationships formed during their previous visit in 2012, and to meet a broad cross section of New Zealanders throughout the country. The visit included engagements with students at Tawa College and Te Whaea; with the fishing, aquaculture and dairy sectors; with NZDF during Exercise Southern Katipo; and with the creative arts at WOW and the Len Lye Centre. Their Royal Highnesses received a high profile powhiri at Turangawaewae Marae, and met with members of the general public in every centre they visited.
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. In the usual manner, New Zealand coordinated with Australia to share external costs evenly.
A breakdown of costs incurred by the Department of Internal Affairs is detailed below:
| Personnel | $494,153 |
| International Travel | $231,268 |
| Domestic Travel | $123,418 |
| Accommodation, Meals and Other Travel Related Costs | $135,183 |
| Vehicle Hire | $322,459* |
| Government Hospitality | $53,476 |
| General Operating Costs | $35,919 |
| Total | $1,395,876 |
The costs detailed in the above table include direct visit costs such as air travel, vehicle hire, Government hospitality and some indirect costs such as office rental and phone costs. 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.
It should be noted that the vehicle hire costs for this Royal visit reflect an increase in VIP Transport Service’s charge-out rates to better reflect the actual cost of providing their service. The actual vehicle usage was comparable to other recent Royal visits.
Costs have been rounded and it is possible that some minor costs may yet come in that have not been accounted for.
Cost of the Royal Visit of His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales to New Zealand in 2015
The nine-day visit in May to New Zealand of His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales (Prince Harry) covered six centres: Wellington, Stewart Island, Christchurch, Linton, Whanganui and Auckland.The Royal visit was the first to New Zealand for Prince Harry and the focus for the programme was meeting a wide range of New Zealanders and included meeting the local community on Stewart Island, visiting Putiki Marae in Whanganui and hosting a reception with emergency services at Government House.
A breakdown of the costs incurred by the Department of Internal Affairs is detailed below:
| Personnel | $18,024 |
| International Travel | $167,703* |
| Domestic Travel | $52,651 |
| Accommodation, Meals and Other Travel Related Costs | $84,092 |
| Vehicle Hire | $65,053 |
| Government Hospitality | $19,313 |
| General Operating Costs | $19,481 |
| Total | $426,317 |
It should be noted that costs have been rounded. It is possible that some small costs may yet come in that have not yet been accounted for.
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