Live with Regis and Kelly, the highest rated morning talk show in the U.S., will do four shows from Charlottetown in July at a cost of $1 million to taxpayers, most of that from the P.E.I. government. The 2006 show from Niagara Falls cost local investors, both public and private, $700,000.
Joel Noden, executive director of revenue for the Niagara Parks Commission, where the shows were taped, said the investment paid off. That summer the park saw a 10 per cent increase in tourism, bringing in visitors from as far south as Texas.
"I think we can [attribute] a good portion of that to bringing in programming like Regis and Kelly," Noden told CBC News Wednesday.
He estimated the exposure was worth about $4 million in advertising, but said the tourism boost was only temporary.
"I think we probably saw the benefits for a couple years afterwards, I wouldn't say as much now," he said.
Worth the money, tourism officials say
P.E.I. tourism officials are hopeful the show will have a more lasting effect on the Island.
"It's a very small amount to pay for the amount it's going to bring back," said Brenda Gallant, director of marketing communications for the Department of Tourism.
"Prince Edward Island will be top of mind for people who may never have heard of us before."
The United States is a target market for P.E.I. tourism, and the province is banking that Regis and Kelly will help hit that target.
The province is building on the experience of the golf show Big Break, which was filmed on the Island in 2008. That programming also cost taxpayers about $1 million, but Gallant said it returned the equivalent of $12 million in advertising. She expects the same payoff from Live with Regis and Kelly.
This will be the third time the show has visited Canada. Both previous visits were to Niagara Falls.
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