They say that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s recent royal tour of New Zealand cost the taxpayer one million dollars.
Was it money well spent? While it may not be that much relative to the nation’s operating allowances from 2018 until 2021, which are all in excess of NZ $2B (that is, two thousand million a year), it’s still enough to warrant looking at what we got in return – if anything!
Today, we’re going to take a look at the marketing and tourism impacts that the tour has had on the country, by looking at the data through the ol’ digital marketing lens.
Where Does Popular Opinion Lie?
Before we get into the search data, let’s explore the social context of our question. According to Stuff, almost half of Kiwis think the tour was misplaced funding. Their data was drawn from a 1News Colmar Brunton poll, which returned a figure of 48% for the tour, and 39% against, with the remainder unsure. This interview ran from October 15th to 19th and had a sample size of 1006, contacted via landline or mobile phone.
Noteworthy, perhaps, that the informal poll running in the Stuff article had a sample size of 8700, as of the time of writing. The same divide appears, though more Philippines Photo Editor pronounced: 59% against the tour, 41% for – over the half-way mark.
stuff royal tour poll
Source: Stuff NZ
This is important to investigate for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the politics surrounding the question. Stuff’s article framed the choice as “the royals are important,” and “there are more pressing things to spend money on,” which implies a certain homogeny to the discussion; namely that the only reason someone might welcome the tour is that they support the Royal family.
Certainly, the poll data suggest the tour was primarily supported by those who are upper-class, right-wing, and 55 years and up. The implication is that this demographic is more likely to support New Zealand’s status in the Commonwealth – and relationship to the Crown – out of hand.
We need to identify this framing of the question, as we wish to frame things in a different way, and posit that the past month’s visit by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was worth the price tag for all Kiwis, regardless of their support of the monarchy.