Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
Princess Cruises has announced plans to bring back one of the ships the company pulled from the Alaska market in recent years. The cruise liner will return to Alaska waters in the summer of 2012, with the potential of bringing 45,000 visitors to Alaska through the season. Fairbanks Convention and Visitor’s Bureau President and CEO Deb Hickock says the ship that’s coming back will boost tourism from Anchorage to Fairbanks and beyond.
Hickock says she’s optimistic that the Princess announcement is just the first from cruise companies about the return of ships to Alaska in 2012. The recession saw companies re-deploy ships from Alaska to other markets in recent years. Princess, Holland American and Royal Caribbean all pulled ships from the Gulf of Alaska route, a move that’s severely hurt railbelt tourism.
Download Audio (MP3)
