Royal couple's N.W.T. stop gets mixed reaction

Yellowknife is preparing to host Prince William and Kate Middleton in 10 days, and there is both excitement about the upcoming visit and some disapproval of the price tag associated with it.

The Northwest Territories government estimates it will spend about $200,000 for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's visit to the northern city July 4-6 as part of the couple's nine-day tour of Canada.

William and Kate's agenda on July 5 includes meeting with political and aboriginal leaders, taking in a street hockey game, watching Dene and Inuvialuit cultural demonstrations, and attending a youth parliament session at the territorial legislature.

Later in the day, the couple will travel by float plane to Blatchford Lodge, where they will meet with Canadian Rangers and visit the Dechinta Centre for aboriginal culture.

"For a lot of us, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform for the Royal Family," Brad Heath of the N.W.T. Pipe Band, which will perform for the royal couple, told CBC News on Friday.

Since the royal tour is expected to attract observers, tourists and international media to the territory, the N.W.T. government has four employees dedicated to royal visit planning.

Expense estimate to be finalized

While William and Kate's accommodations and related expenses are expected to cost the territorial government $200,000, the final price tag will not be known until after the visit, according to officials.

"A lot of it is going towards travel for bringing in people from the communities," Shaun Dean, the government's deputy secretary of corporate communications, said Thursday.

"We want to make sure that the royal couple has the opportunity to meet people from outside of Yellowknife, so we're bringing in youth ambassadors from around the territory. We're bringing in youth parliamentarians, we're bringing in elder parliamentarians."

The N.W.T. government will also spend money on performers, sound system rental and setting up a media room.

As well, the territorial government and the City of Yellowknife are splitting the cost of a $30,000 security fence that will be set up at Somba K'e Plaza.

"Other than a little bit of crowd fencing that we're buying, there's nothing being spent additional this year over any other year," said Mayor Gordon Van Tighem.

Tourism boost expected

Dean said the N.W.T. government is confident the costs will pay off by way of more tourists, given the extensive media coverage that will surround the royal visit.

"The day of the announcement alone, we got an equivalent of $1 million worth of media coverage," he said, referring to Gov. Gen. David Johnson's unveiling of the royal tour itinerary on Tuesday.

"So it's not a bad sort of return on our $200,000 investment, and it's only going to keep going up from here."

N.W.T. Tourism chair Jenni Bruce said she noticed the huge jump in the number of Yellowknife references in the media after the royal itinerary was released on Tuesday.

"Just from that day alone, I think it competes with what we're able to buy in a year. It's a phenomenal number," she said.

"It's literally like winning the lottery in media coverage. I would love that to translate into more people being aware that we're even on the map and come up and visit."

Bruce said any increase in tourism would not be known for about a year, but she is confident that royal watchers are creating enough of a buzz to keep the Northwest Territories on people's radar long after William and Kate's tour is over.

Taxpayer-funded honeymoon?

But on the streets of Yellowknife, public reaction to the royal hoopla has been mixed, with some suggesting that taxpayers should not foot the bill for a royal newlywed couple's vacation.

"The monarchy have a tremendous amount of money and tremendous amount of influence and a great deal of wealth. I'm not sure that they shouldn't just pay their own way," said Jonathan Churcher of Yellowknife.

"They want to come on a honeymoon? Pay for their own honeymoon. Everyone else in the world pays for their own honeymoon."

Others told CBC News that while $200,000 may seem like a bit much, the publicity surrounding the royal visit will benefit the region's economy.

"Why not? You know, it doesn't happen regularly," said Violet Camsell-Blondin of Behchoko, N.W.T., who is delaying her summer vacation so she can see William and Kate.

"I'm just going to experience it once in my lifetime, and after that I can rest in peace," she said.

Northwest Territories RCMP would not say how much they are spending on security during the royal couple's time in Yellowknife, but said that figure would be made public after the tour wraps up.